Khyber Knife - Real or...?

[Stan S.]

Hello all,

First post here. I recently acquired a khyber knife from an eBay auction that ended with a surprisingly low price. When I received it in the mail a few days ago, I imediately became suspicious of its age (and possibly authenticity). Things that throw me off are as follows:

- The blade is in superb condition and aside from a few tiny patina spots is polished like a mirror. It is semi sharp, however the edge bears no signs of sharpening, nor are there any nicks that would indicate actual usage, etc.
- The grip section of the hilt is 5" long. Thats huge! I am a well proportioned 6.3' tall 250lbs man and my palm is only 4" wide. Can you imagine the size of the hand this sword was meant for?
- And finally, the wooden scabbard is not covered in black leather as it appears at first glance... It's actually paper, dyed black and attached to the wood with some sort of blueish foam-like adhesive. This gives the scabbard a look and feel of an old hardcover book binding - I have never heard of any materials other than leather or fabric with or without metal fittings being used on scabbards of these weapons.

On the other hand, the sword is well balanced, although quite a bit lighter than my other (authentic) khyber knife. The blade shows a small recurve closer to the tip, which according to my research is reminiscent of older style khyber knives. Short fullers on each side are hand carved as they clearly show chisel marks. The grips are made of dark horn with minor cracks and could be of some age. There are traces of resin binding the blade to the hilt in addition to the usual rivets. No signs of welding anywhere as far as I see. Please refer to the pictures below. What are your opinions on this item’s age?