Help ID the ethnic origin of this knife handle
 

This is a modern ( ie mid 20th C ) dagger of ethnic origin ... the blade in imitation of a WW2 period British dagger ... however I am trying to elicit opinions as to what part of the world it derives its curious handle .I have some thoughts but do not wish to influence opinions . Any help would be much appreciated.

Anyone got any ideas ?

Yes I know this weapon intimately ~ They are collectible but since they are WW2 they tend to be regarded as outside of the usual sphere of Ethnographic but if you search the history you will note the connection to the famous Joseph Rodgers thence to Wilkinson Sword.
Fairburn Sykes no doubt drew on their far East experiences and probably viewed Iberian daggers in their final design as well as other stiletto forms.

In fact I would point to a quite interesting web site description of Spanish Knives at http://bowieknifefightsfighters.blog...e-culture.html

and although you quite rightly inquire about the fascinating hilt I think that site has insights into the Spanish system which you may quite enjoy reading. :shrug:

Thank you for your reply Ibrahiim and the interesting website. This is of course an FS dagger but the handle is not at all typical and clearly has some ethnological influences . My first thought was S E Asian .

That has to be agreed by all since; William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based their designs on concepts which the two men initiated before World War II while serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police in China.

However my thought was that stiletto daggers of the previous century and before will lead you to much more fertile soil in studying the general subject and still remain in the domain of Ethnographic.

I understand what you are saying Ibrahiim , but it is not the stiletto dagger that interests me in this case , it is the geographic origin of of the handle of this specific example .... and that is clearly within the ethnographical domain .

I hope that you do not mind, but I have cropped your photo to show the hilt and the numbers a little better. The biggest problem I see in trying to identify where this was made is that anyone could have seen this style of hilt on another piece, liked it and had a copy cast and mounted to a blade they already had. Posting a few close-ups that show all of the stampings on the hilt might also be of help in trying to identify the origin of this piece. :shrug:

Best,
Robert

Thank you Robert , that is a very good point and excellent suggestion ... as soon as I am back home I will do that .