Sharing a Yemeni Janbiya

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

hm, can you tell me how a file blade is made? all i know is that they are used for janbiyas and daggers from yemen to syria.

i have a small shibriya with a file blade but its different from this janbiya.

also about that pattern, i seen it more then once on janbiyas.

When an old file is reused for a dagger blade, the teeth of the file are ground off, but the impression often remains in a pattern of scored lines.
Like the crosshatching on your Jambiya.
As file steel tended to be good, it was regularly used pre-ww2 for this sort of thing, I guess its possible that the pattern on yours is meant to show at a glance that it's a good blade?

I know that file blades were used into the 50s regularly, but I think easier sources were becoming common by then.

[Lew]

It's not made from a file I have a few with the same markings. The file work could help create more friction with the scabbard or it is just for decoration?