Wootz Kama for comment
 

I received this today, a cheap kama from eBay. To my surprise (rather pleasant I must say), it turned out to be made of wootz. I etched the blade carefully with diluted vinegar to accentuate the pattern. Sorry for the horrible quality of the pics, but my camera is far from the best. I will try to take better pictures when the light is better, probably in the weekend.
I am by no means an expert on kindjals and kamas, but I guess this one would be classified as Persian. The blade looks like it has been specifically made for this particular kama and I do not believe this is a sword blade sized down. How common is wootz on kamas and kindjals?
Best regards as always,
Teodor

Hi TVV

I really can't say how common wootz kamas or kindjals are but I came across one some months ago and it is very much like yours.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...r_Kindjal1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...indjalHilt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tz_Pattern.jpg

Lew

Wow, Lew, you seem to have found my kama's sister (or rather the other way around, I found your kama's sister). Thanks for your input, it is nice to see how a scabbard could have looked (of course scabbards were often changed). The similarity in the hilt is obvious, but there are differences in the blades. Their shapes are different and the fuller on your example is off-centered, while the one on mine i central and a bit wider and shallower. Could that mean that one of them or both have been rehilted in the same style at some point, the wootz blades being older? Do you have more information on the provenance of yours, as of region, time period, etc.?
Regards,
Teodor

Hi Teodor

I am not that knowlegable when it comes to the subject of kamas and kindjals but my guess is early to mid 19th century for both and they are most probably of Persian origin (Iranian)? Ariel might be able to shed more light on both their origins and age.


Lew

Actually it's interesting that the first one has more of an iranian fuller, and the second one has a pancaucasian off-centered fuller, fullers probably form the angle with kindjal's median line, and converge around the point (they are supposed to be off-centered towards different edges at both sides ?).

Hilts are quite generic and can be theoretically anything - Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, Iran. If it's of interest to the public I can look up my catalogue of hilts and see if I'll find something like this.