Jambiya ...as old as it looked ?

[Michael Blalock]

This type of hilt is from the eastern part of the country in what was part of the Aden protectorate, along the coast, near Oman. The sheetmetal blades should not be totaly disregarded as tourist pieces, just budget jambiyas for the common south arabian. Your average Yemeni could barely afford a bit of food until the 1970's, yet they all sported a jambiya.