Pesh Kabz

[Bob A]

A very handsome knife.

If it were made yesterday, it would be no less an Indian Pesh Kabz. It possesses the attributes that encompass the tradition, and is done with artfulness and flair.

[Battara]

I was thinking that it was a marriage of an old blade with a new handle of glass, which seems smaller than it should be.

I do want to hear from the others.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Battara

I was thinking that it was a marriage of an old blade with a new handle of glass, which seems smaller than it should be.

I do want to hear from the others.

I don't see many if any inclusions, which I consider a bit strange for rock crystal.
It does seem a very nice piece of work at any gate.

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by Battara

I was thinking that it was a marriage of an old blade with a new handle of glass, which seems smaller than it should be.

I do want to hear from the others.

I beg to differ, while I might be wrong.

Indians have rather small hands and that reflects on the sizes of the hilts. I have several Indian daggers and some have unusually small hilts for Western hands (for example the majority of Indian Katars and Patah swords would be impossible to be used by westerners as their hands wouldn't fit the grip). However, they fit perfectly smaller hands, which I think it would be the case for this one.

Now with regards to glass vs. rock cristal, I believe it would be very difficult to distinguish them from the photos. However, rock crystal is neither very rare, nor very expensive (I have seen hundreds of huge crystals in a couple of shops in Brazil), so it might very well be rock crystal. Anyhow, this should be fairly easy to determine upon closer examination.

As with regards to the blade, I haven't seen any recent Indian blade chiseled with such skill and I suspect this is because it would be very time consuming and economically not efficient. I even tried to have such a blade made to order but I wasn't successful. Moreover, the pattern & contrast of the welded Damascus is not characteristic to the modern productions but to the earlier 20th century blades.

[corrado26]

In my Archive I found fotos of an Indian Pesk Kabz whose handle with the head of a ram might come from the same source............
corrado26

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by corrado26

In my Archive I found fotos of an Indian Pesk Kabz whose handle with the head of a ram might come from the same source............
corrado26

This is also a very nice example but the stones on the hilt look much more like natural rubies. However, an accurate determination would be impossible based on photos only.

[estcrh]

In my opinion this is a completely modern made example, while it does not strictly adhere to the original methods it is a beautiful pesh. It is good to see that somewere there exists the ability to still create something nice.

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by estcrh

In my opinion this is a completely modern made example, while it does not strictly adhere to the original methods it is a beautiful pesh. It is good to see that somewere there exists the ability to still create something nice.

I have been looking for a couple of years for an Indian workshop/swordsmith capable of making something like this, without success.

Maybe you can suggest one such place because I would definitely want to get a Pesh like this one.

But then, if it were modern or at least recent production, shouldn't we be able to find more such exquisite pieces readily available for sale?! Because if you look at the pieces of recent production, you won't find anything like this.

[Battara]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

Indians have rather small hands and that reflects on the sizes of the hilts. I have several Indian daggers and some have unusually small hilts for Western hands (for example the majority of Indian Katars and Patah swords would be impossible to be used by westerners as their hands wouldn't fit the grip). However, they fit perfectly smaller hands, which I think it would be the case for this one.

You may have a point. Besides, I took another look at the pictures and noticed that they are taken at a slight angle, which skews the view for me, making the hilt smaller than it might otherwise be.