Bosnian Dagger

Aurangzeb · 10th December 2006, 06:04 AM

Hello All!

I just bought this nice Bosnian Bichak dagger. I like these knives and I finally got one. It is in relatively good condition considering it's age. "Foca 1888" is wirtten on the blade with brass wire inlay not Koftgari. It also has some kind of makers mark on it too. The handle is bone with brass inlay work. Can someone give me some more background information on this type of knife. Also if anybody has some pictures of Foca, Bosnia I would like to see them, Please! All comments are welcome!

Mark...

Valjhun · 10th December 2006, 03:19 PM

Another nice Bosniac. It is the first one I see wich has a non Sarajevo inscription.

It was manufactured in Foča (spoken as Focha).

Foča is a town on the river Drina in the serbian, south eastern part of Bosna and Hercegovina boarding with Serbia. Traditionaly it is a merchant town. And there is located the eldest mosque in the region.

The town was known as Hvoča (Хвоча) during medieval times. It was then known as a trading centre on route between Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) and Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). The Ottomans left Foča a marvel of architecture, the Aladža Mosque, claimedly one of Europe's most beautiful.

During the Second World War some 8,000 people were killed in a number of massacres by the Chetniks. The municipality is also the site of the legendary Battle of Sutjeska between Yugoslav Partisans and the German army. A monument to the Partizans killed in the battle was erected in the village of Tjentište.

In 1992, the city came under the control of the JNA and Serbian paramilitaries. All of the Bosniaks were expelled form the area. 2,704 people from Foča are missing or were killed during the war, the majority of whom are Bosniaks. Foča was also the site of a rape camp[citation needed] which was set up by the Serb authorities in which hundreds of women were raped.

On 22 April 1992, the Bosnian Serb Army blew up the Aladža Mosque. Eight more mosques, from the 16th and 17th centuries, were also damaged or fully destroyed. The city was renamed Srbinje, literally "place of the Serbs" (from Srbi Serbs and -nje which is a Slavic locative suffix). In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the name change unconstitutional, and reverted it to Foča, until the National Assembly of Republika Srpska passes an appropriate law.

(from Wikipedia and other sources)

Aurangzeb · 15th January 2007, 01:01 AM

Hello All!

I just found out that this same knife was on Oriental-Arms a while ago! Small world huh!

Is it spelt Bichak or Bicaq or some similar spelling? Can anyone tell me about the Bosnian fighting style in this era, not just knife fighting but their fighting style in general. Thanks!

Mark...

http://www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=155

10th December 2006, 06:04 AM	#1
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Bosnian Dagger Hello All! I just bought this nice Bosnian Bichak dagger. I like these knives and I finally got one. It is in relatively good condition considering it's age. "Foca 1888" is wirtten on the blade with brass wire inlay not Koftgari. It also has some kind of makers mark on it too. The handle is bone with brass inlay work. Can someone give me some more background information on this type of knife. Also if anybody has some pictures of Foca, Bosnia I would like to see them, Please! All comments are welcome! Mark... Attached Images

10th December 2006, 03:19 PM	#2
Valjhun Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 692	Another nice Bosniac. It is the first one I see wich has a non Sarajevo inscription. It was manufactured in Foča (spoken as Focha). Foča is a town on the river Drina in the serbian, south eastern part of Bosna and Hercegovina boarding with Serbia. Traditionaly it is a merchant town. And there is located the eldest mosque in the region. The town was known as Hvoča (Хвоча) during medieval times. It was then known as a trading centre on route between Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) and Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). The Ottomans left Foča a marvel of architecture, the Aladža Mosque, claimedly one of Europe's most beautiful. During the Second World War some 8,000 people were killed in a number of massacres by the Chetniks. The municipality is also the site of the legendary Battle of Sutjeska between Yugoslav Partisans and the German army. A monument to the Partizans killed in the battle was erected in the village of Tjentište. In 1992, the city came under the control of the JNA and Serbian paramilitaries. All of the Bosniaks were expelled form the area. 2,704 people from Foča are missing or were killed during the war, the majority of whom are Bosniaks. Foča was also the site of a rape camp[citation needed] which was set up by the Serb authorities in which hundreds of women were raped. On 22 April 1992, the Bosnian Serb Army blew up the Aladža Mosque. Eight more mosques, from the 16th and 17th centuries, were also damaged or fully destroyed. The city was renamed Srbinje, literally "place of the Serbs" (from Srbi Serbs and -nje which is a Slavic locative suffix). In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the name change unconstitutional, and reverted it to Foča, until the National Assembly of Republika Srpska passes an appropriate law. (from Wikipedia and other sources) Attached Images

15th January 2007, 01:01 AM	#3
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Hello All! I just found out that this same knife was on Oriental-Arms a while ago! Small world huh! Is it spelt Bichak or Bicaq or some similar spelling? Can anyone tell me about the Bosnian fighting style in this era, not just knife fighting but their fighting style in general. Thanks! Mark... http://www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=155 Last edited by Aurangzeb; 15th January 2007 at 03:35 AM.