The Omani Khanjar

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

A couple of pointers ...for interest. Many people ask me how to identify Rhino Hilts. The fact is its not easy but rhino looks like bunched spaghetti and can be better seen if a light is shone into the hilt from a powerful mobile fone torch ....The material is translucent and almost glows . Here is one of the best I have seen illustrated ...Rhino is excellent material for Khanjar hilts since it can take the myriad of tiny nail/pins without splitting. In fact one of the give aways on a Khanjar is the thousands of such silver pins hammered into the face and top of the hilt. To me it is as if the intentional pattern derives from the end view of Rhino hilts... the massing of fibres giving rise to this pattern reflects in my view to the design of pins hammered into the hilt.

Once again I draw the attention of readers to https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstre...pdf?sequence=2 which is a dissertation of huge importance to Omans cultural herritage.