Two Chooras

corrado26 · 27th August 2022, 09:46 AM

I've got from an old collector two chooras which I want to show you. The one with the bone grip has a blade length of 220 mm and the other one with the horn grip of 255 mm. The longer one is extremely sharp!

corrado26 · 27th August 2022, 09:48 AM

Some more fotos

Jim McDougall · 28th August 2022, 03:02 AM

These are extremely attractive examples of the pesh kabz/karud. It seems there is a great deal of contention about the proper classification of these and which term to use, and the 'choora' term is simply a term that became popular in use in early 20th c.

Without getting into the complex debate over these terms, this particular style of dagger with beak like pommel etc. and the narrow, straight blade which goes dramatically to sharp point is peculiar mostly to Khyber regions. Mostly it seems these are regarded as Mahsud weapons, in Waziristan however obviously not confined to there (also in Bannuchi areas, the pommels resemble their lohar pick axes as well as the metal work).

With the second example with the pierced lozenge designs with red color, this is similar to punched linear designs seen on some tulwar blades of NW Frontier regions. I have seen this on other examples of these daggers in same designs, but with distinctly same pierced scabbard.

These were around in the periods prior to Egerton (1885) but unclear how much prior, and I am not aware of examples with provenance earlier. I would take these to be late 19th early 20th.
Lots of activity in these areas leading into 3rd Afghan War (1919) and the British Raj which did not conclude until 1947.

corrado26 · 28th August 2022, 09:11 AM

Many thanks for this helpful information. As always I am admiring your profound knowledge!

Jim McDougall · 28th August 2022, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corrado26

Many thanks for this helpful information. As always I am admiring your profound knowledge!

Very much quid pro quo Udo! Likewise!
Im glad you posted these as it brought me to drag out old notes from some time ago and actually make sense out of them!

27th August 2022, 09:46 AM	#1
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,167	Two Chooras I've got from an old collector two chooras which I want to show you. The one with the bone grip has a blade length of 220 mm and the other one with the horn grip of 255 mm. The longer one is extremely sharp! Attached Images

27th August 2022, 09:48 AM	#2
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,167	Some more fotos Attached Images

28th August 2022, 03:02 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,738	These are extremely attractive examples of the pesh kabz/karud. It seems there is a great deal of contention about the proper classification of these and which term to use, and the 'choora' term is simply a term that became popular in use in early 20th c. Without getting into the complex debate over these terms, this particular style of dagger with beak like pommel etc. and the narrow, straight blade which goes dramatically to sharp point is peculiar mostly to Khyber regions. Mostly it seems these are regarded as Mahsud weapons, in Waziristan however obviously not confined to there (also in Bannuchi areas, the pommels resemble their lohar pick axes as well as the metal work). With the second example with the pierced lozenge designs with red color, this is similar to punched linear designs seen on some tulwar blades of NW Frontier regions. I have seen this on other examples of these daggers in same designs, but with distinctly same pierced scabbard. These were around in the periods prior to Egerton (1885) but unclear how much prior, and I am not aware of examples with provenance earlier. I would take these to be late 19th early 20th. Lots of activity in these areas leading into 3rd Afghan War (1919) and the British Raj which did not conclude until 1947.

28th August 2022, 09:11 AM	#4
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,167	Many thanks for this helpful information. As always I am admiring your profound knowledge!