New purchase.

[Atlantia]

I remember emailing the seller about the mismatched scabbard (pointing out the scabbard was Kurdish) and he wasn't much help tbh lol.
In all honesty David, you probobly don't need to look much further than the 'label' for this one. As Lew rightly pegged it, it's a mid 20thC Indian dagger of reasonable quality.
To call it a 'souvenir' is fine in the literal sense, but don't judge it by applying a modern definition to a bygone age.
We have a tendency to think 'souvenir' means cheap and mass produced rubbish, because thats sort of true NOW.
Back in the 40s, you could buy fantastic quality items in the markets of any country across asia.
I doubt there is a single member here without something of similar age and origin.
Yes, it was seemingly marketed to 'foreigners' so might be regarded as a souvenir, but it's quality is what could have been expected of any knife made in that era.
Look at other items of that date.
Shops in Calcutta selling Kukri and such to foreigners that make all the military patterns that post date them look like crap.
Fine quality Jambiya and Khanjar being bought by local and foreigner alike, Druze Jambiya, Keris, etc, etc. There was no real 'line'.
Just because your knife was (from the inscription) sold to a foreigner, doesn't mean it's in the same room with those lion headed Kukri from the 1970s that we all know and despise.
It's possible that it's a reused section of a sword blade, but that wouldn't be usual. Soak it in vinegar or lemon juice if you really want to test for wootz.
Beyond that I'd say that it is what it is, a rather stylish 'fusion' knife from the last days of the Raj.

[David R]

Hi Atlantia, I did give it a quick pickle as I mentioned in an earlier post.....thats why we think it's probably wootz. Not a classy pattern, but there is activity, a wavy grain clearer to the eye than is apparent in the photo's. That is what also brought out the differential hardening on the edge.
Overall I am happy enough with the knife, and some day I might turn up a Kurdish khanjar that needs a scabbard.

[Richard G]

David,

I agree with Atlantia. I think your knife would have been made, as it says, in India (but remember there wasn't a Pakistan then) during WW2, as a bowie knife, for sale to whoever wanted one. I have seen them about, and altho' dismissed by the "Sheffield" purists, are usually of good servicable quality

I have a similar knife showing western and north Indian traits made in Akyab in 1945.
Akyab is on the Arakan coast in Burma and when captured from the Japanese in 1945 was a significant staging post for the British, Indian and American air and land forces engaged in the later stages of the Burmese war. A possible scenario is that Abdul Qadar made this in a military workshop, as most of the materials are those you would expect from such a source, as a means of earning an extra bob or two from British or American officers. It is very sturdy and well made and wouldn't shame any officer.

Incidentally, the plan to capture Akyab was by seaborne landings preceded by arial bombardment. When intelligence was received that the Japanese had already absconded the bombing was cancelled, but the seaborne landings went ahead as they were considered a useful rehearsal for D-Day.
Regards
Richard

[A.alnakkas]

While the images provided by David R are fuzzy, I can see some waves on the blade so lets give it the benefit of the doubt ! :-)

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

While the images provided by David R are fuzzy, I can see some waves on the blade so lets give it the benefit of the doubt ! :-)

Without close-up daylight pics it's hard to tell. Those waves could be shear steel which is sometimes seen on these knives.

David, get thee outside with teh box brownie!

[David R]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Without close-up daylight pics it's hard to tell. Those waves could be shear steel which is sometimes seen on these knives.

David, get thee outside with teh box brownie!

As requested/advised, here are some further photo's taken with natural daylight. The real limitation here is the quality of the camera....my phone! However there is some pitting in the blade, and removing this would be tantamount to reshaping the blade, so I will be content with a bit more of a cleanup, and then it goes on my wall.
What is clear in these pics is the area of differential hardening on the edge, as for the grain...sometimes I look at it and am not sure, other times I am certain I can see a wootz type pattern....

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by Richard G

David,

I agree with Atlantia. I think your knife would have been made, as it says, in India (but remember there wasn't a Pakistan then) during WW2, as a bowie knife, for sale to whoever wanted one. I have seen them about, and altho' dismissed by the "Sheffield" purists, are usually of good servicable quality

I have a similar knife showing western and north Indian traits made in Akyab in 1945.
Akyab is on the Arakan coast in Burma and when captured from the Japanese in 1945 was a significant staging post for the British, Indian and American air and land forces engaged in the later stages of the Burmese war. A possible scenario is that Abdul Qadar made this in a military workshop, as most of the materials are those you would expect from such a source, as a means of earning an extra bob or two from British or American officers. It is very sturdy and well made and wouldn't shame any officer.

Incidentally, the plan to capture Akyab was by seaborne landings preceded by arial bombardment. When intelligence was received that the Japanese had already absconded the bombing was cancelled, but the seaborne landings went ahead as they were considered a useful rehearsal for D-Day.
Regards
Richard

A BEAUTIFUL knife Richard.