My first Koummya

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by taube

Gentlemen,

my first post and my first Koummya.

I am a collector of military antiques originally but those Koummyas caught me.
In the neighbourhood, I got this one for practically nothing.
It is hardly worth collecting regarding the blade but it serves its purpose as a studying object.
The seller said it was given to him as a present in Oman some 30 years ago.
My limited knowldege tells me it is a Moroccan style dagger.
At the same time it is not a classic Koummya.

What do you think?
What region is this style of decoration typical for?

Thanks in advance,
taube.

Salaams taube Welcome to the Forum! Ok good choice of weapon to start on... Koummya are an excellent start point and you will be amazed where the study takes you ... just type into Forum Search and also take it to web search ... Ok its a recent 20th C example however this will open the door to a really great study... I look forward to seeing how you progress with this great subject..ok? For a flying start see #53 just press on this link on http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=koummya
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[blue lander]

I think buying a tourist Koummya is a rite of passage for all new collectors. There's so many on ebay. I posted a picture of my three, yours at least is much nicer and I assume older.

The lesson I learned from buying these is to pay more attention to the quality of the blade than the quality of the sheath and hilt. If it doesn't look like much effort was made into shaping and "finishing" the blade, then the blade was probably never meant to be seen. IE it's a wall hanger or decorative piece.

When it comes time to buy a real Koummya I'll probably go with a trusted seller rather than auction. There's just too many tourist models floating around.