Kurdish khanjar with important provenance

Oriental-Arms · 1st November 2017, 06:05 PM

in 1963 - 1973 Israel was active helping the revolution of the Kurdish people against the Iraqi regimes. The IDF (Israel Defese Forces) set up a field hospital in the Kurdish territories. A young military physician was sent to the area to help in setting up and servicing in the hospital. At the end of his mission and as a token of appreciation he received from Mullah Mustafa Barzani the legendary leader of the revolution a Kurdish khanjar. Later on this physician was appointed a Brigadier General and the Commander of the IDF medical corps, and later as a general manager of one of the biggest hospitals in Israel. In this position and in my previous life in the medical industry I met him, and after months of begging and pleas I got the dagger. I recently found it in the bottom of the drawer and thought to share it with you. Simple but authentic effective and functional.

Marcus · 1st November 2017, 06:28 PM

Very nice piece and a great story. It reminds me of this Kurdish dagger which was one of the first pieces I purchased from Oriental Arms. The blade on this knife is wootz.

kronckew · 1st November 2017, 06:47 PM

love the thimble chape on yours, OA

mine has a simpler wood grip, but also has a wootz blade. it's of the few jambiyahs i like. a lot.

Battara · 2nd November 2017, 02:31 AM

This is a wonderful story and piece Artzi, thank you for sharing it.

Johan van Zyl · 18th November 2017, 11:10 AM

Having read this thread and the interesting replies, I thought I could also show my own Kurdish khanjar. I got it many years ago. It came without a scabbard, so I made one for it, following the style of the scabbard it would have come in as exactly as I could. People I have shown the khanjar to, have disagreed amongst themselves about the handle material. I am myself at a loss as to whether it is horn or wood.

I remember when I purchased this khajar, the dealer claimed it was c. 1910 vintage.

Regards
Johan

kronckew · 18th November 2017, 07:48 PM

a nice one too, johan.
nice scabbard too.

mine also came to me without a scabbard.

an esteemed forum member here had a spare one he'd accumulated from somewhere he didn't have any use for, so he very kindly sent it to me. it fits like it was made for it.

i have a bou-saadi khodmi knife with a sewing thimble on the scabbard tip, like the one in post no.1, i guess you use what you have handy. hope their wives didn't beat them too much for raiding the sewing kit.

Johan van Zyl · 19th November 2017, 09:42 AM

Very nice indeed, Kronckew, and the others too. I made the tip of the scabbard with a piece of black buffalo horn which I shaped to look like ones I had seen on traditional scabbards. The big challenge with the making of most ethnographic scabbards is proper, sturdy coverage of the knife with the use of minimum material (like in this Kurdish khanjar scabbard, and also with Nepali kukri scabbards! The latter scabbards present additional challenges.

Your thimble tip looks great!

Johan

1st November 2017, 06:05 PM	#1
Oriental-Arms Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Haifa, Israel Posts: 183	Kurdish khanjar with important provenance in 1963 - 1973 Israel was active helping the revolution of the Kurdish people against the Iraqi regimes. The IDF (Israel Defese Forces) set up a field hospital in the Kurdish territories. A young military physician was sent to the area to help in setting up and servicing in the hospital. At the end of his mission and as a token of appreciation he received from Mullah Mustafa Barzani the legendary leader of the revolution a Kurdish khanjar. Later on this physician was appointed a Brigadier General and the Commander of the IDF medical corps, and later as a general manager of one of the biggest hospitals in Israel. In this position and in my previous life in the medical industry I met him, and after months of begging and pleas I got the dagger. I recently found it in the bottom of the drawer and thought to share it with you. Simple but authentic effective and functional. Attached Images

1st November 2017, 06:28 PM	#2
Marcus Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 420	Very nice piece and a great story. It reminds me of this Kurdish dagger which was one of the first pieces I purchased from Oriental Arms. The blade on this knife is wootz. Attached Images

1st November 2017, 06:47 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,184	love the thimble chape on yours, OA mine has a simpler wood grip, but also has a wootz blade. it's of the few jambiyahs i like. a lot. Attached Images

18th November 2017, 11:10 AM	#5
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Having read this thread and the interesting replies, I thought I could also show my own Kurdish khanjar. I got it many years ago. It came without a scabbard, so I made one for it, following the style of the scabbard it would have come in as exactly as I could. People I have shown the khanjar to, have disagreed amongst themselves about the handle material. I am myself at a loss as to whether it is horn or wood. I remember when I purchased this khajar, the dealer claimed it was c. 1910 vintage. Regards Johan Attached Images

18th November 2017, 07:48 PM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,184	a nice one too, johan. nice scabbard too. mine also came to me without a scabbard. an esteemed forum member here had a spare one he'd accumulated from somewhere he didn't have any use for, so he very kindly sent it to me. it fits like it was made for it. i have a bou-saadi khodmi knife with a sewing thimble on the scabbard tip, like the one in post no.1, i guess you use what you have handy. hope their wives didn't beat them too much for raiding the sewing kit. Attached Images

2nd November 2017, 02:31 AM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,221	This is a wonderful story and piece Artzi, thank you for sharing it.

19th November 2017, 09:42 AM	#7
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Very nice indeed, Kronckew, and the others too. I made the tip of the scabbard with a piece of black buffalo horn which I shaped to look like ones I had seen on traditional scabbards. The big challenge with the making of most ethnographic scabbards is proper, sturdy coverage of the knife with the use of minimum material (like in this Kurdish khanjar scabbard, and also with Nepali kukri scabbards! The latter scabbards present additional challenges. Your thimble tip looks great! Johan