Indian Dagger for ID

blue lander · 19th November 2013, 06:05 PM

I bought this as a "maharani safety dagger" from Jodhpur. Obviously the maharani part isn't true, but it was cheap and I liked the way it looked so I bought it. Now I'm wondering what it is, exactly. It's very small and thin, about 10 inches total in length. It looks a little like a seax but it does curve up slightly towards the end. The serrations on the back are more like waves than serrations, not sure what use they might have served. They're all worn down and many are bent over a little, so it must have been used heavily at some point. The handle looks like brass and horn.

There's three different grinds on the dagger which you can't see from the picture, so I drew them on in the second picture. The primary edge is still fairly sharp but the false edge on the back doesn't look like it was ever sharpened. Any ideas what it might be besides a rusty old knife?

olikara · 21st November 2013, 03:53 AM

It is only a 'local' dagger. You find similar pieces in India where a knife maker puts up a hilt and blade all depending on utility and some vague idea in his mind. The hilt (pommel, rather) here is similar to a choora hilt or a 'Rampuri dagger' hilt also derieved from Indo-Afghan tradition. The blade seems bowie type and we saw many such blades coming to India in the 30s and 40s and later village knife makers copied them in profusion.

So the answer to your question is this piece has no specific name but is still interesting because it is bot old and carries memories of older traditions and styles.

spiral · 21st November 2013, 10:38 AM

I wonder if the saw tooth back shows the origins as once part of an old saw blade?

spiral

blue lander · 22nd November 2013, 12:13 AM

That's very interesting, thank you for the explanation. I think it is indeed an old saw blade, the teeth at the top look like they've been deliberately filed down and flattened. I wonder why the knifemaker left the teeth at all, or why he put a bevel on it.

19th November 2013, 06:05 PM	#1
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	Indian Dagger for ID I bought this as a "maharani safety dagger" from Jodhpur. Obviously the maharani part isn't true, but it was cheap and I liked the way it looked so I bought it. Now I'm wondering what it is, exactly. It's very small and thin, about 10 inches total in length. It looks a little like a seax but it does curve up slightly towards the end. The serrations on the back are more like waves than serrations, not sure what use they might have served. They're all worn down and many are bent over a little, so it must have been used heavily at some point. The handle looks like brass and horn. There's three different grinds on the dagger which you can't see from the picture, so I drew them on in the second picture. The primary edge is still fairly sharp but the false edge on the back doesn't look like it was ever sharpened. Any ideas what it might be besides a rusty old knife? Attached Images

21st November 2013, 03:53 AM	#2
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 100	Old Combo It is only a 'local' dagger. You find similar pieces in India where a knife maker puts up a hilt and blade all depending on utility and some vague idea in his mind. The hilt (pommel, rather) here is similar to a choora hilt or a 'Rampuri dagger' hilt also derieved from Indo-Afghan tradition. The blade seems bowie type and we saw many such blades coming to India in the 30s and 40s and later village knife makers copied them in profusion. So the answer to your question is this piece has no specific name but is still interesting because it is bot old and carries memories of older traditions and styles.

21st November 2013, 10:38 AM	#3
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	I wonder if the saw tooth back shows the origins as once part of an old saw blade? spiral

22nd November 2013, 12:13 AM	#4
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	That's very interesting, thank you for the explanation. I think it is indeed an old saw blade, the teeth at the top look like they've been deliberately filed down and flattened. I wonder why the knifemaker left the teeth at all, or why he put a bevel on it.