Unusual Balkan? Dagger

kronckew · 26th July 2010, 04:08 PM

of course the different countries and regions in the balkans have differing customs, artefacts and cultural histories some of which some areas share with others and some that are not. that's why they have different countries, languages, etc., even the names and sovereignty of some areas are disputed, but geographically they are all balkan, which is what i referred to. any current political differences are not germane to these older artefacts. some of the names we call the areas by may not have even existed at the time the topic's knife was made.

the knives of the whole area do seem, at least to my untutored eyes, to have certain similarities in basic shape, eared grips, etc and even in more details, that would not be found in south east asia. most of the area from istanbul to vienna was trod by the turkish armies at one point or another, and their edged weapons do seem to have affected local design standards, tho somewhat softened by the local non-turkish cultures...

ah, well, i think i'll head downstairs and sharpen my qama, and my texan bowie, it's american (maybe mexican, maybe US).

p.s. - don't forget the canadians, they are americans too!

eftihis · 26th July 2010, 05:23 PM

Dear kronckew,
Thanks for accomodating our sensitivities!
I agree with all that you say, and indeed we share common designs because of common Turkish occupation.
And we fought in our war of revolution with Turkish weapons, just as Afgans fought Russians with AK-47.
The whole isssue comes from the fact that we Greeks feel that we have a lot of differences with our Balkan neighbors, and so we just dont like to be included in one group together with them, without first clarifying our differences!!!

kronckew · 27th July 2010, 08:22 AM

Greeks have always been prickly and get a tad disgruntled when other groups have tried to knock you down. you are still here. they aren't.

Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

"Dic, hospes Spartae nos te hic vidisse iacentes,
Dum sanctis patriae legibus obsequimur."

Go tell the Spartans, thou who passeth by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie

i have borrowed that line to use in my signature on other fora, along with Μολὼν λαβέ

.

greece is the fountainhead of western civilization and culture.

27th July 2010, 08:22 AM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,224	Greeks have always been prickly and get a tad disgruntled when other groups have tried to knock you down. you are still here. they aren't. Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. "Dic, hospes Spartae nos te hic vidisse iacentes, Dum sanctis patriae legibus obsequimur." Go tell the Spartans, thou who passeth by, That here, obedient to their laws, we lie i have borrowed that line to use in my signature on other fora, along with Μολὼν λαβέ . greece is the fountainhead of western civilization and culture. Last edited by kronckew; 27th July 2010 at 08:35 AM.

26th July 2010, 04:08 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,224	of course the different countries and regions in the balkans have differing customs, artefacts and cultural histories some of which some areas share with others and some that are not. that's why they have different countries, languages, etc., even the names and sovereignty of some areas are disputed, but geographically they are all balkan, which is what i referred to. any current political differences are not germane to these older artefacts. some of the names we call the areas by may not have even existed at the time the topic's knife was made. the knives of the whole area do seem, at least to my untutored eyes, to have certain similarities in basic shape, eared grips, etc and even in more details, that would not be found in south east asia. most of the area from istanbul to vienna was trod by the turkish armies at one point or another, and their edged weapons do seem to have affected local design standards, tho somewhat softened by the local non-turkish cultures... ah, well, i think i'll head downstairs and sharpen my qama, and my texan bowie, it's american (maybe mexican, maybe US). p.s. - don't forget the canadians, they are americans too!

26th July 2010, 05:23 PM	#2
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 511	Dear kronckew, Thanks for accomodating our sensitivities! I agree with all that you say, and indeed we share common designs because of common Turkish occupation. And we fought in our war of revolution with Turkish weapons, just as Afgans fought Russians with AK-47. The whole isssue comes from the fact that we Greeks feel that we have a lot of differences with our Balkan neighbors, and so we just dont like to be included in one group together with them, without first clarifying our differences!!!