Small bone handled dagger
 

This is the fourth item from my recent job lot purchase at auction to go with the haladie; http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20788
and the short sword and dagger
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20804

The catalogue description for this item did not give much away:
Double edged leaf blade with geometric etching. Bone grip with circular decoration.
Stats:
Weight: 3.9oz (0.11kg)
Length overall: 11.25'' (28.5cm) Blade: 7.5'' (19cm)
Profile taper: 1.08'' (27.4mm) at widest point of ricasso, 0.76'' (19.4mm) mid blade, 0.43'' (10.9 mm) 2inches from tip.
Distal taper 0.11'' (3mm) at ricasso, 0.16'' (4.1mm) at mid blade,. 0.11'' (3mm) 2 inches from tip.

Various cross hatchings and arcs lines and dots on blade. All crudely done.
Please ignore the scabbard in the pictures as the dagger came without a scabbard and this is a home-made replacement, to no particular pattern.

I know nothing about this dagger. I have seen similar decoration on Afgan bone hilts but I suspect it is common to a lot of regions. Can anyone help with a definite ID? It is a nice little dagger but naively made and decorated.

I am not very familiar with these but would suggest that it is from Africa rather than Afghanistan. The blade looks a bit roughly made to be Afghani.
Nice job on the scabbard by the way.
Stu

Agree, North Africa but will let it to the experts for the exact origin. Very nice handle.

Regards,
Detlef

I added pictures of two daggers, which are not the same but very similar to the dagger above. Interesting is the horses head at the sheeth of one and the lion's head at the other dagger.
May be that anybody knows where these items are coming from?
corrado26

second part

The original dagger is an African piece. The precise location is not easy. The form of blade is common in the regions around the south of the Sudan. The scabbard "you say you made" is very much like scabbards from West Africa. I like the handle. The other dagger is a 19th century version of a 15th century Italian dagger , called something to do with five finger width at the forte in " Italian" All this is just to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks all for pointing me back to Africa and the Sudan specifically. Tim the word you were looking for was 'Cinquedea' in reference to corrado26's daggers. I've usually seen the term applied to a type of Italian short sword rather than dagger. I don't really see much correlation between corrado26's daggers and my original posting and I don't see them as coming from the same region. :confused: