Chilanum & destiny

Andy Davis · 12th December 2005, 08:57 AM

In the Summer, I went to London and following useful directions went to Portabello Road market. Here I found a certain Liverpool accented dealer! whose stock I inspected with interest. Out of all his junk...i mean wonderful stock, I found a excellent dagger. Rusty to the extream but all there....then! A certain individual, from this very site (who will remain nameless!) phones me up. Being polite, I put down the knife and go outside the shed... I mean shop! And have a long conversation. When I go back into the shop/shed, can I find the knife again...can i ****!
Skip on 6 months and the Leeds militaria fair, rummaging through a box of junk, from the same dealer. What do I find!!! My knife ha ha! Destiny held it in store for me.
OK, short story made rather long, here it is, now cleaned up. 30cm long, bone handle and I like it! But is chilanum the right description?
Region and era appreciated, from those with the knowldege.
Cheers
Andy

Battara · 12th December 2005, 09:07 AM

I believe it is called a "tiger's tooth" or "tiger's teeth", but not a chilanum. Good question though, and sometimes one can find a treasure buried under all the junk...er..."stock".

Justin · 12th December 2005, 01:07 PM

I agree with Battara,I have also seen these called tiger teeth jambiyas,,not sure if it is really a jambiya variant or not but it makes sense to me.The chilanum has a recurved blade.

Ian · 12th December 2005, 01:55 PM

Andy:

Here is a particularly nice example in Artzi Yarom's collection.

http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=32

Ian.

B.I · 14th December 2005, 08:29 AM

hey andy,
my ears are burning for some reason

i think it would be easy to lose something in that shop, but even harder to find something of interest. you must have been looking hard :-)
i believe his speciality is 15thC 'viking' swords to unsuspecting tourists wanting some english history.
i try to avoid terminology, as its purely down to opinion, but jambiya is not an indian term, and this is indian. i call this a khanjar, but again, thats me and i am happy if others differ, as long as we end up talking about the same thing :-)
tiger teeth is a descriptive term, refering to the type of khanjar this is. as far as i know (could be wrong) tiger teeth is an internet term, and one that has spread. i havent checked this, but know that non-internet users havent a clue what your talking about (i had this recently with someone, led to confusion and funny results)
i think you got there in a rare moment when he had something interesting.
also, he does many of the smaller militaria fairs in the north, so maybe worth checking him out.
just avoid the 15thC viking swords - easy to spot (brass hilt and chrome blade)

Andy Davis · 15th December 2005, 08:20 AM

Ah yes you guessed right.
I think hes quiet fun as a dealer, as long as you dont put any faith in his opnions, stories or identification and catch him at the right time for price. He seems to be as wrong in a good way (for my benefit, when I grab the opertunity) as being wrong for his own benefit, when I walk away.
I expected there had to be a ethnic description and the only thing my own research has found is Jambiya, from pg313 of Stones, theres one down at the bottom right corner. Such a open term for so many different styles, it seems worthless. Mind you, Stones also says khanjar is a open term for various types of knife, across many countries.
Oh for some clarrification by the writers of the main referances!
This type doesnt seem as common as many other types of knife from the same region, so is there anything significant about that? Are they an earlier period?
Cheers all
Andy

B.I · 15th December 2005, 12:55 PM

hi andy,
i think a gentle plea for help to jim may yield some great references, as he is this forums resident librarian, and from recent activity, back in full swing.

12th December 2005, 08:57 AM	#1
Andy Davis Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: England, Northumberland Posts: 85	Chilanum & destiny In the Summer, I went to London and following useful directions went to Portabello Road market. Here I found a certain Liverpool accented dealer! whose stock I inspected with interest. Out of all his junk...i mean wonderful stock, I found a excellent dagger. Rusty to the extream but all there....then! A certain individual, from this very site (who will remain nameless!) phones me up. Being polite, I put down the knife and go outside the shed... I mean shop! And have a long conversation. When I go back into the shop/shed, can I find the knife again...can i ****! Skip on 6 months and the Leeds militaria fair, rummaging through a box of junk, from the same dealer. What do I find!!! My knife ha ha! Destiny held it in store for me. OK, short story made rather long, here it is, now cleaned up. 30cm long, bone handle and I like it! But is chilanum the right description? Region and era appreciated, from those with the knowldege. Cheers Andy Attached Images

15th December 2005, 08:20 AM	#6
Andy Davis Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: England, Northumberland Posts: 85	He is a interesting guy Ah yes you guessed right. I think hes quiet fun as a dealer, as long as you dont put any faith in his opnions, stories or identification and catch him at the right time for price. He seems to be as wrong in a good way (for my benefit, when I grab the opertunity) as being wrong for his own benefit, when I walk away. I expected there had to be a ethnic description and the only thing my own research has found is Jambiya, from pg313 of Stones, theres one down at the bottom right corner. Such a open term for so many different styles, it seems worthless. Mind you, Stones also says khanjar is a open term for various types of knife, across many countries. Oh for some clarrification by the writers of the main referances! This type doesnt seem as common as many other types of knife from the same region, so is there anything significant about that? Are they an earlier period? Cheers all Andy

12th December 2005, 09:07 AM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	I believe it is called a "tiger's tooth" or "tiger's teeth", but not a chilanum. Good question though, and sometimes one can find a treasure buried under all the junk...er..."stock".

12th December 2005, 01:07 PM	#3
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 175	I agree with Battara,I have also seen these called tiger teeth jambiyas,,not sure if it is really a jambiya variant or not but it makes sense to me.The chilanum has a recurved blade.

12th December 2005, 01:55 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,028	Andy: Here is a particularly nice example in Artzi Yarom's collection. http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=32 Ian.

14th December 2005, 08:29 AM	#5
B.I Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 485	hey andy, my ears are burning for some reason i think it would be easy to lose something in that shop, but even harder to find something of interest. you must have been looking hard :-) i believe his speciality is 15thC 'viking' swords to unsuspecting tourists wanting some english history. i try to avoid terminology, as its purely down to opinion, but jambiya is not an indian term, and this is indian. i call this a khanjar, but again, thats me and i am happy if others differ, as long as we end up talking about the same thing :-) tiger teeth is a descriptive term, refering to the type of khanjar this is. as far as i know (could be wrong) tiger teeth is an internet term, and one that has spread. i havent checked this, but know that non-internet users havent a clue what your talking about (i had this recently with someone, led to confusion and funny results) i think you got there in a rare moment when he had something interesting. also, he does many of the smaller militaria fairs in the north, so maybe worth checking him out. just avoid the 15thC viking swords - easy to spot (brass hilt and chrome blade)

15th December 2005, 12:55 PM	#7
B.I Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 485	hi andy, i think a gentle plea for help to jim may yield some great references, as he is this forums resident librarian, and from recent activity, back in full swing.