Tabar Zin?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".

-P. B. Shelley, 1818

Salaams kronckew Nice poetry !
I had the Master Stick Maker from Mussandam over for tea yesterday and we had an interesting chat about axe heads from Lima in Mussandam.. He has relatives in the Shehe family and is key to understanding the nature of that area. He has in his collection(and I will get a photo someday) of a couple of Jerrs axes .. The first is only an inch long and is said to be very old. Delightful. The second is Johar ! Indian Wootz... watered steel ! I have never seen one. It appears that the Baluch got involved in making these... Baluchistan is only across the water... and seemingly brought the ore from Hyderabad and made the items in Mekran. This is not proven but could be interesting in follow up research later. I make the note for forum library purposes. The wood on the shaft is important and he showed me examples of different hardwoods . In the Mussandam its called Meez. Its about equivalent to blackthorn and after a year drying he uses steam to straighten and a mixture of oils to treat the stick. The other hardwood is from the Jebel Akhdar and is called Atom ... which is a white timber often handcarved in geometric style. Im not sure what tree consitutes the stick used in the Wahiba sands camel driver variant known as the Qudoom or Qudum... but its like your example.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[David R]

These walking stick axes fascinate me, such a practical item for a harsh environment.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ The amazing news on the block about Mussandam axes is that there are a few wootz heads and I have been promised a photo... soon.
Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi