Arabian sword, new or old? opinions please

Tim Simmons · 4th April 2005, 09:55 AM

Hi , I do not think the stampings are modern machine made,I must go I should be working.Tim

derek · 4th April 2005, 01:41 PM

Hi Tim,

Definitely some new elements. I've seen nearly identical scabbards made recently in Iran, and very similar from Yemen as well. The The guard looks old to me. The blade I don't know. It is sharp? It looks like an old trade blade, but it's really bright.

BTW, I knew an antique dealer in the UAE that regularly got a lot of "refurbished" swords from Iran. Often the blade would be old and there were old parts mixed in with repairs. The work was really good, but it was new. I still have some pics archived on CD somewhere.....

-d

tom hyle · 4th April 2005, 05:22 PM

The white adhesive is not something I've seen on old pieces, though European cutlers' pitch is often a pale cream colour. The grips don't seem old to me, and I suspect this sword has had a fairly recent rehilting/refurbishing. The blade looks like an old one that has been cleaned by recent soft-buffing (notice the pits; notice also that it has been cleaned under the lagnets, which is nearly impossible while the sword is assembled.). I have come to doubt the usual diagnosis of these multifullered thinnish blades as European, especially when the grooves run off the base of the blade; I think it's an Islamic blade; it closely resembles N African blades I've seen. The only part of the scabbard that stands out as a stamping, rather than hand-embossed and graven is the narrow reinforcing band you show a close-up of. It seems to be a modern repair on an old sheath. There is another that looks similar (2 such bands total), but there's no close-up of it. I can't see the tang-band well enough to tell if it is stamped or hand-decorated. The guard appears to be old. I'm utterly baffled as to any idea of this as a tourist sword. My guess concerning the wave near the tip is that it is not so much the result of longterm repeated sharpening, but a single incident of sharpening out a damage.

4th April 2005, 09:55 AM	#1
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,876	Hi , I do not think the stampings are modern machine made,I must go I should be working.Tim

4th April 2005, 01:41 PM	#2
derek Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 215	Hi Tim, Definitely some new elements. I've seen nearly identical scabbards made recently in Iran, and very similar from Yemen as well. The The guard looks old to me. The blade I don't know. It is sharp? It looks like an old trade blade, but it's really bright. BTW, I knew an antique dealer in the UAE that regularly got a lot of "refurbished" swords from Iran. Often the blade would be old and there were old parts mixed in with repairs. The work was really good, but it was new. I still have some pics archived on CD somewhere..... -d

4th April 2005, 05:22 PM	#3
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	The white adhesive is not something I've seen on old pieces, though European cutlers' pitch is often a pale cream colour. The grips don't seem old to me, and I suspect this sword has had a fairly recent rehilting/refurbishing. The blade looks like an old one that has been cleaned by recent soft-buffing (notice the pits; notice also that it has been cleaned under the lagnets, which is nearly impossible while the sword is assembled.). I have come to doubt the usual diagnosis of these multifullered thinnish blades as European, especially when the grooves run off the base of the blade; I think it's an Islamic blade; it closely resembles N African blades I've seen. The only part of the scabbard that stands out as a stamping, rather than hand-embossed and graven is the narrow reinforcing band you show a close-up of. It seems to be a modern repair on an old sheath. There is another that looks similar (2 such bands total), but there's no close-up of it. I can't see the tang-band well enough to tell if it is stamped or hand-decorated. The guard appears to be old. I'm utterly baffled as to any idea of this as a tourist sword. My guess concerning the wave near the tip is that it is not so much the result of longterm repeated sharpening, but a single incident of sharpening out a damage.