Help to ID a dagger

Conduit · 11th December 2021, 11:35 AM

Would you help me to ID this dagger, please.
The crossguard appears to be made of some sort of alabaster kind of material, pommel is of wood and grip section is of carved stone. Judging by the symbols I guess it may be of Korean origin but I am not too confident about it.

mariusgmioc · 11th December 2021, 06:47 PM

I cannot tell you where this dagger comes from but certainly doesn't have anything Korean in it.

From the photos the crossguard appears to be rhino horn and the blade appears to be made from a sword's repurposed blade.

Let's hope that others can tell you more.

Conduit · 11th December 2021, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

From the photos the crossguard appears to be rhino horn and the blade appears to be made from a sword's repurposed blade.

Thanks for your opinion. You may well be right and crossguard is some sort of horn. I doubt this is rhino horn, though, as it would be too good.

Ian · 11th December 2021, 10:00 PM

The braided narrow rattan strips have a strong mainland SE Asian/southern Chinese flavor. The carved ivory(?) grip appears to have some Chinese influence also. A rhino guard is a bit of an anomaly, but rhino horn can be found via trade in some SE Asian areas (e.g., Malaysia)--buffalo horn is more common. The dagger blade with a central rib might suggest a Chinese, Indonesian, or even western influence (such as French).

An interesting dagger. Philip might be able to place it better for you. My best guess is SE Asian/southern Chinese, possibly from Vietnam (Cochin). It appears to have some age and might date to the period of French IndoChina.

On the other hand, I could be way off the mark.

Rick · 11th December 2021, 10:09 PM

The horn guard (Rhino?) and the domed pommel are quite similar to elements seen on Shotel handles.
A 'married' piece?

Bob A · 11th December 2021, 10:49 PM

The grip looks more like bone than ivory to me, and has a certain African flavor in the carving. the pommel cap looks like copper to me, and again points to Africa, in my uninformed lack of expertise.

The blade was probably re-purposed. The rattan stumps me.

Interesting knife. Where did you find it?

kronckew · 12th December 2021, 02:27 AM

The blade looks like it has it's central 'ridge' from a slight overlap of two blade halves forge welded together, an african technique.

colin henshaw · 12th December 2021, 08:09 AM

It really looks like a fairly recent made-up piece (perhaps by a hobbyist ?). The blade from an African Shona spearhead or knife, the carved bone hilt with a mixture of Chinese and African inspired decoration. All artificially stained to give the impression of age.

kronckew · 12th December 2021, 08:58 AM

When I mentioned 'african' above, I was thinkng 'Shona', as in my isizenze stabbing axe/ or a bakatwa knife/sword (not mine).

11th December 2021, 11:35 AM	#1
Conduit Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 30	Help to ID a dagger Would you help me to ID this dagger, please. The crossguard appears to be made of some sort of alabaster kind of material, pommel is of wood and grip section is of carved stone. Judging by the symbols I guess it may be of Korean origin but I am not too confident about it. Attached Images

11th December 2021, 10:09 PM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Horn of Africa The horn guard (Rhino?) and the domed pommel are quite similar to elements seen on Shotel handles. A 'married' piece?

12th December 2021, 08:58 AM	#9
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,178	When I mentioned 'african' above, I was thinkng 'Shona', as in my isizenze stabbing axe/ or a bakatwa knife/sword (not mine). Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 12th December 2021 at 09:08 AM.

11th December 2021, 06:47 PM	#2
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,903	I cannot tell you where this dagger comes from but certainly doesn't have anything Korean in it. From the photos the crossguard appears to be rhino horn and the blade appears to be made from a sword's repurposed blade. Let's hope that others can tell you more.

11th December 2021, 10:00 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,194	The braided narrow rattan strips have a strong mainland SE Asian/southern Chinese flavor. The carved ivory(?) grip appears to have some Chinese influence also. A rhino guard is a bit of an anomaly, but rhino horn can be found via trade in some SE Asian areas (e.g., Malaysia)--buffalo horn is more common. The dagger blade with a central rib might suggest a Chinese, Indonesian, or even western influence (such as French). An interesting dagger. Philip might be able to place it better for you. My best guess is SE Asian/southern Chinese, possibly from Vietnam (Cochin). It appears to have some age and might date to the period of French IndoChina. On the other hand, I could be way off the mark.

11th December 2021, 10:49 PM	#6
Bob A Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 427	The grip looks more like bone than ivory to me, and has a certain African flavor in the carving. the pommel cap looks like copper to me, and again points to Africa, in my uninformed lack of expertise. The blade was probably re-purposed. The rattan stumps me. Interesting knife. Where did you find it?

12th December 2021, 02:27 AM	#7
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,178	The blade looks like it has it's central 'ridge' from a slight overlap of two blade halves forge welded together, an african technique.

12th December 2021, 08:09 AM	#8
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	It really looks like a fairly recent made-up piece (perhaps by a hobbyist ?). The blade from an African Shona spearhead or knife, the carved bone hilt with a mixture of Chinese and African inspired decoration. All artificially stained to give the impression of age.