Sharing a Majdali and a Kukri Question

Battara · 7th January 2017, 04:30 PM

Your jambiya is very nice, one of the nicest examples of this type I have seen!

The kukri is very recent, but not a tourist piece. I agree with you - probably made in India.

mariusgmioc · 7th January 2017, 05:50 PM

Very nice Janbyia! Congratulations!

As with regards to the Kukri, I don't see anything that can locate it unambiguously eiher to India or Nepal. So I believe it can be either one but I tend to lean towards Nepal as I have seen some very similar examples made there.

motan · 8th January 2017, 08:50 AM

Battara and Maiusgmioc, thank you for your response. Always nice to read good think about things you bought. I am not dissapointed of the Kukri, because that is what I expected, and besides, it was a "bycatch".
As for the Majdali, I have come to know a bit about these daggers. I am not an expert myself, but I have good sources, especially my good friend Mahmoud who is a devoted collector of these daggers and has about 50 of them, many of which are excellent and early examples. There are few others too in my country and some are reported to own over 200! of them. I hope one day to publish a review of their rather complex history in this forum. However, at the moment, there are too many gaps and unanswered questions.

motan · 8th January 2017, 12:58 PM

Hi, thanks for sharing your Majdalis with us. Indeed, the third one from the left is the oldest and most beatiful. The fourth from left is also a very good one. Both share style elements with each other and with mine and could well have been made in the same workshop. However, by the 1940's, less attention was given to the blade and more to the ornamental value. The blade of the first one is hard to evalute because it has been re-sharpened very often, but it is better than in the newer one where the fullers are not forged and are rather crudely executed like in many Lebanese and Syrian daggers of this period. Is the date written in Gregorian of Hijri calendar? If you will send me clear pictures of the inscriptions, I will ask my friend to translate them for you.
The second from left is a type produced en masse in 1950's and 60's by a certain workshop with progressively lower quality. I also own one of this type (see pictures). The scabbard is a later and ugly replacement, but the dagger has one special feature: the grip is decorated on both sides. Notice the similarity between the reverse side in mine and your dagger.
As for the forth, according to my information, this type is made in Syria for the Jordanian tourist market. There is a similar one currently on sale that has BATRA (Petra in Arabic) written on the blade. Majdali type daggers are currently made in Syria (several locations including Damascus), Southern Lebanon and even Iraq!

motan · 12th January 2017, 08:12 PM

Hello Geoff, I let my friend read the inscription on the blade (only the visible side). It says "shughul Majdal", meaning "work of Majdal" or in normal English "made in Majdal". This refutes the suggestion raised in an older thread (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=Majdali) that the type with rounded, intricately decorated hilt and blade with grooves is made Damascus, not Majdal Shams. This type has been imitated by other production centers, like Damascus and this is probably what caused the confusion. I missed the date at first, but I see it in the pommel now (unususal place for inscription). 1944 is a good date for these daggers, as the majority of them were made later.

The older type has flatter hilt and heavy blade, the oldest dating to the end of the 19th c. Some members of the forum, in particular DaveA, own excellent and early examples of this type.

7th January 2017, 05:50 PM	#2
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,911	Very nice Janbyia! Congratulations! As with regards to the Kukri, I don't see anything that can locate it unambiguously eiher to India or Nepal. So I believe it can be either one but I tend to lean towards Nepal as I have seen some very similar examples made there. Last edited by mariusgmioc; 7th January 2017 at 10:31 PM.

8th January 2017, 08:50 AM	#3
motan Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Jerusalem Posts: 274	Thanks Battara and Maiusgmioc, thank you for your response. Always nice to read good think about things you bought. I am not dissapointed of the Kukri, because that is what I expected, and besides, it was a "bycatch". As for the Majdali, I have come to know a bit about these daggers. I am not an expert myself, but I have good sources, especially my good friend Mahmoud who is a devoted collector of these daggers and has about 50 of them, many of which are excellent and early examples. There are few others too in my country and some are reported to own over 200! of them. I hope one day to publish a review of their rather complex history in this forum. However, at the moment, there are too many gaps and unanswered questions.

8th January 2017, 12:58 PM	#4
motan Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Jerusalem Posts: 274	To G. Manfield/Geoff Hi, thanks for sharing your Majdalis with us. Indeed, the third one from the left is the oldest and most beatiful. The fourth from left is also a very good one. Both share style elements with each other and with mine and could well have been made in the same workshop. However, by the 1940's, less attention was given to the blade and more to the ornamental value. The blade of the first one is hard to evalute because it has been re-sharpened very often, but it is better than in the newer one where the fullers are not forged and are rather crudely executed like in many Lebanese and Syrian daggers of this period. Is the date written in Gregorian of Hijri calendar? If you will send me clear pictures of the inscriptions, I will ask my friend to translate them for you. The second from left is a type produced en masse in 1950's and 60's by a certain workshop with progressively lower quality. I also own one of this type (see pictures). The scabbard is a later and ugly replacement, but the dagger has one special feature: the grip is decorated on both sides. Notice the similarity between the reverse side in mine and your dagger. As for the forth, according to my information, this type is made in Syria for the Jordanian tourist market. There is a similar one currently on sale that has BATRA (Petra in Arabic) written on the blade. Majdali type daggers are currently made in Syria (several locations including Damascus), Southern Lebanon and even Iraq! Attached Images

12th January 2017, 08:12 PM	#5
motan Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Jerusalem Posts: 274	Additional remarks Hello Geoff, I let my friend read the inscription on the blade (only the visible side). It says "shughul Majdal", meaning "work of Majdal" or in normal English "made in Majdal". This refutes the suggestion raised in an older thread (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=Majdali) that the type with rounded, intricately decorated hilt and blade with grooves is made Damascus, not Majdal Shams. This type has been imitated by other production centers, like Damascus and this is probably what caused the confusion. I missed the date at first, but I see it in the pommel now (unususal place for inscription). 1944 is a good date for these daggers, as the majority of them were made later. The older type has flatter hilt and heavy blade, the oldest dating to the end of the 19th c. Some members of the forum, in particular DaveA, own excellent and early examples of this type.

7th January 2017, 04:30 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,308	Your jambiya is very nice, one of the nicest examples of this type I have seen! The kukri is very recent, but not a tourist piece. I agree with you - probably made in India.