strange dagger on ebay

Valjhun · 16th April 2006, 08:48 PM

What was that?
6620913376

I've almost bid on that.

Certainly not moroccan. Looks indian, has a ricasso, nice khanjar hilt, but....

any ideas?

ariel · 16th April 2006, 11:49 PM

I agree, the dagger looks Indian and quite practical. No info on the quality of steel, but superficially looks OK, mid 20th century, perhaps?
As to the adjective Moroccan: please notice that the seller did not say that the dagger was Moroccan, only the leather.
Moroccan leather is almost a trademark, more of a mark of quality and technololy than the origin. It is natural, mostly horse or camel, not bonded, very pliable and strong. Surprisingly, a lot of it is (and always was!) actually manufactured in Nigeria and brought to Morocco and from there to Europe. In Europe it was used for furniture, belts/bags and, especially, for book binding. If you see an 18th-19th century Bible with still astonishingly intact cover, it is likely to be covered in Moroccan leather. Lower quality stuff was bonded: layers and scraps glued on top of each other; those invariably started crumbling after ~ 10 years. I have a friend who is into "first editions" and this is as elementary to him as "turkish ribbon" vs. "hairpin" to us.
In short, Moroccan leather is like Damascus steel: made anywhere, with Damascus as the distribution point.

16th April 2006, 08:48 PM	#1
Valjhun Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 692	strange dagger on ebay What was that? 6620913376 I've almost bid on that. Certainly not moroccan. Looks indian, has a ricasso, nice khanjar hilt, but.... any ideas?

16th April 2006, 11:49 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I agree, the dagger looks Indian and quite practical. No info on the quality of steel, but superficially looks OK, mid 20th century, perhaps? As to the adjective Moroccan: please notice that the seller did not say that the dagger was Moroccan, only the leather. Moroccan leather is almost a trademark, more of a mark of quality and technololy than the origin. It is natural, mostly horse or camel, not bonded, very pliable and strong. Surprisingly, a lot of it is (and always was!) actually manufactured in Nigeria and brought to Morocco and from there to Europe. In Europe it was used for furniture, belts/bags and, especially, for book binding. If you see an 18th-19th century Bible with still astonishingly intact cover, it is likely to be covered in Moroccan leather. Lower quality stuff was bonded: layers and scraps glued on top of each other; those invariably started crumbling after ~ 10 years. I have a friend who is into "first editions" and this is as elementary to him as "turkish ribbon" vs. "hairpin" to us. In short, Moroccan leather is like Damascus steel: made anywhere, with Damascus as the distribution point.