Black Sea Yataghan/Laz Bichaq Variant ???
 

The blade on this one seems very familiar, with its marked recurve and widened distal half, highly reminiscent of our old friend the Black Sea Yataghan. However, the hilt is completely different from the usual bifid shape, instead being similar to those seen on kindjal and qama.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=6634481420

Without examining the piece directly it is hard to know if this is a rehilted blade or whether the hilt is contemporary to the blade. Either way, it's a very unusual sword.

Ian.

SURE LOOKS LIKE A BLACK SEA YAG. BLADE AND THE HANDLE LOOKS LIKE THE ORIGINAL OR IF REHILTED IT WAS A LONG WHILE BACK. A NEAT VARIATION :cool:

I'm quite sure that it was born that way, and not rehilted. Another confirmation of it's origin I would guess, A KINDJAL HILT, NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Not one of the nicest but interesting feature, I saw it, I wanted it desperatly, but the seller blocked my account from bidding on that. :mad: jerk :mad:

Has anybody from the forum got it? If so, We're really looking forward to see better pictures.

SenSei, any comments on thatone?

I watched this one carefully and am very glad it stayed within the Forum family.
Ian, Congratulations!
What I find interesting is the ricasso area: in all Laz Bicagis I've seen, the blade ends on a kind of slant, very much like Flyssa. That is why Tirri ( and I , must admit) insisted on it's North African origin.
This one looks like a true Kinjal. Pity the handle buttons are missing. Would love to see how they look

I bid on this one also but I am glad if I did not get it that Ian did. Great catch I can't wait to see more pictures

More pictures coming ...
 

Will post more pictures once I receive it. Thanks for all the comments to date.

Ian.

Ian, have you recived it?

Sword was received right before I left for my vacation in Australia. Will post pics when I get back in two weeks. Sorry for the delay.

Just a quick update having had a chance to inspect it.

I'm convinced the blade is an example of the BSY. It has almost certainly been rehilted, but not recently. There is evidence of modification to the hilt to accommodate the kindjal style handle.

More details coming with the pics.

Ian.