Billao
 

My first billao, handle in ivory and brass, blade fairly thin 2.7 mm against the handle. No idea if these knives have such thin blades. Sheath seems new but well made. Knife and scabbard soaked in oil by previous owner. Length 34 cm.
Comments are always welcome.
Best regards
Marc

All of mine have fairly thin blades, more so than I'd have expected before seeing them in person!

This is true of the couple I've seen in the local Somali museum here in Minnesota.

Here's my collection. I think I should soak a couple of these sheathes in oil.

Have fun,
Leif

"Somali museum here in Minnesota" was the most interesting thing said here, lol. Somali museum... In Minnesota. How did that come about? There's gotta be a story there.

Hi Leif


Thanks for the response and clarification regarding the blade. I have had a few billao's in my hands in the past, but could not remember how thick the blades were.
Nice collection of billao's, but I am also curious about the story of the Somali museum in Minnesota.


Best regards
Marc

Hello!

I gueas it's probably not widely known outside of Minnesota, but after the civil war, Minneapolis became a major hub for Somali immigrants. Minnesota has the largest population of Somalis in the west (Toronto is another hub). There's quite a few Somali restaurants in town, and you can take Somali as a language option at the University of Minnesota. I took two years of classes when I was in school.

Here's the URL for the museum
http://www.somalimuseum.org/

Have fun,
Leif