Rhino Khanjar for comments

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Hey guys,

So I finally had time to share this one. Its a nice rhino hilted Omani khanjar with a good blade. Blade was heavily rusted so cleaned it up but during the cleaning, some of the wd40 went inside the hilt and stained the rhino. Gav told me thats ok and it shouldnt damage the rhino though! :-)

How old is such a piece? interesting details in the silver work especially at the flowers etc. Certainly better work then most modern Omani stuff.

Salaams A.alnakkas ~ That is a very nice Omani Khanjar. As always difficult to pinpoint its exact provenance but it is "Of the North" (Shimaliyah) It carries the distinctive Ibri pattern of arabesque full circle scrolling widely emulated especially around Nizwa and Rustaq as well as other regions. Omongst the rare inclusions on this Khanjar are the peculiar pins in the back of the hilt hardly ever seen. The hilt is classic Rhino. which commanded a higher price per gram than gold. (A single anterior horn from either of the two African species sufficient for only eleven hilts and the posterior horn enough for only three.) The hilt expertly adorned with several hundred silver pins adding great weight and balance to the dagger. Classic crown of the flat ended variety. Nice old woven belt...Great old blade. This is not a new item!

I would say in the 50/80 year old region with the proviso "they don't make them like that anymore.."

Coconut works on hair and is thus excellent on Rhino horn..

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Afternote ~ Did anyone notice the silver pins in the head of the khanjar at the 4th and 5th photo of #1 which appear to reflect the pattern of the Rhino Horn in the end or top of the hilt? I wonder if that is the idea of hammered pins in the hilt generally as reflecting the pattern of spaghetti endings in Rhino hilts? It is certainly the case that a lot of Rhino hilts have these pins (not counting Royal Khanjars in this equation).

[Atlantia]

Hi Lotfy.

It's a very good Khanjar my friend. How about a shot of it with it's new friends?

Lets all be greatful that as Ibrahiim pointed out "they don't make them like that anymore"

[A.alnakkas]

Thanks all!

Yes, the amount of wd40 was not huge (alittle actually, but it stained the rhino anyways) as I didnt apply it directly to the hilt, rather it creeped in while I was cleaning the blade :P

So coconut oil, I'll get some tommorow and apply it to the horn. But how? do I just dip it in the oil? I'd rather do it right as I feel like a total dufus for forgetting to cover the hilt and seal it.

Gene, I'll post them tommorow, need sunlight

[spiral]

Ahhh sorry Gav, Alnakkas for bieng out of context, I assumed, that as WD 40 was bieng used to remove rust & had soaked inside the hilt causing discoleration thatit was in liberal quantities, not just a slight overspray!

Interesting Gav! Coconut oil? I must admit I have never used it, I find unperfumed baby oil excelent for horn ,bone, metal etc. {Never leather though as after a decade or so that to can promote degrading, particularily of stiching it seems..}

Perhaps the slight leak of wd40 that discoloured the rhino was carrying some of the dissolved rust within it, that would increase the staining.

I am sure Steve has his favorite mixes & techniques for brining rhino back to life, ill have to ask!

Spiral

[Gavin Nugent]

Virgin coconut oil chaps, get it from your local health shops, give it a go, no smell, no bad side effects....its a solid when cold, liquid when hot.
A long time Pacific rim tribal art collector put me on to it.

Oh and good for the skin too...the broom pilot douses herself with it from head to toe each night

Gav

[Lew]

Gav

In my experience with coconut oil I found it goes rancid within a few months if left out Mineral oil might do the trick it is more stable.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Lew

Gav

In my experience with coconut oil I found it goes rancid within a few months if left out Mineral oil might do the trick it is more stable.

Hi Lew,

I'm not sure what you mean by left out? Lid open sitting in the jar?

I've had it on timber in the home for years with no side effects...had a couple of ivory Keris hilts with age cracks in them from the heat and dry, a quick soak, wipe off the excess and in a few days open cracks are all closed up.

As I was informed years ago, be sure it is virgin cocnut oil only and the best place to buy it to ensure purity was a health food shop...

Works for me thus far


Gene, not to my knowledge

And Lofty, as previously noted in mail, congrats, a great piece.

Gav

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by freebooter

(snip)the broom pilot douses herself with it from head to toe each night

Gav

Does she have her own website?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[

Afternote ~ Did anyone notice the silver pins in the head of the khanjar at the 4th and 5th photo of #1 which appear to reflect the pattern of the Rhino Horn in the end or top of the hilt?

[A.alnakkas]

Thanks all, its interesting to know more about this piece!

Well I have some baby oil around but its scented, no good?

[Lew]

Gav

Left out means room temperature. I bought a jar for making keris oil and within six months time it went rancid. I use Briwax which is a combination of bees wax and other waxes.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Thanks all, its interesting to know more about this piece!

Well I have some baby oil around but its scented, no good?

Its better than most vegtible based oils I understand,Ive certanly used it, perfumed baby oil will have solvents of .05 % or less usualy, wd40 is 55.% percent solvents though... massive differance in the decimal point.

Perfumed is very pure,better than most, nothing is purer than unperfumed though.

Given the scenario Id nearly dunk it in any oil to hand,just in case it was to much wd40, so perfumed baby oil would seem great to me, given the circustance,but thats just me...

spiral

[spiral]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[

Afternote ~ Did anyone notice the silver pins in the head of the khanjar at the 4th and 5th photo of #1 which appear to reflect the pattern of the Rhino Horn in the end or top of the hilt?

Indeed Ibrahiim, as does the actual blade shape of Yemini, Omani & other Arabian Pennisula Jambiya/Khanjar ive always thought.

spiral

[A.alnakkas]

Ok so I oiled them, didnt put much though, made sure some is sucked in though. Hope I didnt screw up

[A.alnakkas]

I need to work on my photoskills :P

[spiral]

A little oil know & again should stop cracking due to most circumstances.

Nice collection! A plain one colour background will make the pieces stand out more clearly in photos.

Spiral

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

I need to work on my photoskills :P

Salaams~ What do you know about the 2 Khanjars on the left of frame?
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams~ What do you know about the 2 Khanjars on the left of frame?
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

The top left one featured in this thread.

linky

So obviosly from the Yemen.

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