Old or new ''fake'' yemeni jambiya-khanjar ?

[kahnjar1]

Good genuine Yemeni Jambiya IMHO. Not a recent made tourist piece.
Stu

[David R]

The hilt could be "Amberoid" .... https://www.britannica.com/science/amberoid-resin

I think you got a nice one.

[Kubur]

Hi
It's a nice jambiya from Aden.
It depends what you call old, if old is 1950ties, it's old.
I think it is hornoid or bakelite.

[David R]

"I tried to heat a little, it smells not like horn/hair not plastic
but a little like soap-incense."

Which is why I am thinking something resinous, like Amberoid.

[francantolin]

Originally Posted by David R

"I tried to heat a little, it smells not like horn/hair not plastic
but a little like soap-incense."

Which is why I am thinking something resinous, like Amberoid.

logical !

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by David R

"I tried to heat a little, it smells not like horn/hair not plastic
but a little like soap-incense."

Which is why I am thinking something resinous, like Amberoid.

Indeed it is extremely interesting! Especialy in Yemen.
I have some jambiya the blade is connected to the hilt with some frankincense... but its a bit sticky.

[francantolin]

Hello,

Thank you all for your comments !

50's just begins to be old for humans, for a jambiya not sure
hopefully it's not too recent.

Interesting the ''amberoid'' I didn't know it

I wonder why they used to do this kind of hilt materials instead wood or marble-stone handle and why they mixed it with real silver filgree-mounts.

- Was it to sell it high priced as a rare rhino hilted piece to the few
( I think !?! ) present strangers ( for British ? with the Aden Protectorate... )

- Or for local people who liked the similarity with horn hilt but hadn't enough
money to buy one ? ( like skaï-imitation leather instead of real one )

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by francantolin

I wonder why they used to do this kind of hilt materials instead wood or marble-stone handle and why they mixed it with real silver filgree-mounts.

- Was it to sell it high priced as a rare rhino hilted piece to the few
( I think !?! ) present strangers ( for British ? with the Aden Protectorate... )

- Or for local people who liked the similarity with horn hilt but hadn't enough
money to buy one ? ( like skaï-imitation leather instead of real one )

You should buy Gracie's book, the best on this topic.

[David R]

Amberoid is not a cheap material, though nowhere near as expensive as natural Amber. It can also be bought as fairly large blocks, as used to be sold by a supplier used to deal with. The technology is also old, dating back to the late bronze age.

It was a favoured material for pipe stems in the West and in the Muslim world, regarded as self purifying in the Middle East and is used a lot for worry beads in place of genuine amber. No guarantee of course but it would be my guess.

https://gem-a.com/gem-hub/gem-knowle...tructed-pieces

[Bob A]

I'm unable to speculate regarging the hilt materiel, but the silver work is attractive.

The blade has an odd look, to me, making me wonder if it is solid, or a welded-together molded 2-piece construct, which I understand is sometimes done. (It's surprisingly shiny, making me think of some sort of plating).

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by Kubur

You should buy Gracie's book, the best on this topic.

What title?

[TVV]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

What title?

Stephen Gracie, "Jambiya: Daggers from the Ancient Souks of Yemen"

If you can, get the hardcover copy. A really great book, with a ton of info and great pictures and also very pleasant to read. Elgood's "The Arms and Armour of Arabia" also has a lot of good info in the chapter on daggers.