Odd Asian dagger

fearn · 22nd April 2005, 11:21 PM

Hi Rick,

I won't necessarily disagree, except that I thought that Bhutanese blades had those open scabbards like Naga daos.

Fearn

Rick · 22nd April 2005, 11:57 PM

Hi Fearn , I took a stroll through Artzi's sold section and I'm not so sure that this is a hard and fast rule with Tibet / Bhutan E.W.'s .
This is obviously not a high status piece and may not have warranted an exposed blade .

dennee · 23rd April 2005, 01:04 AM

The open-scabbard knives or short swords are the traditional ban of the Lepcha people of Sikkim, but Lepchas are also in northern Bhutan and even eastern Nepal. "Drukpa" weapons in the north of Bhutan generally have a closed scabbard. (And in the south of Bhutan are many Nepalis who carry kukris.)

The knife in question is more decorated, but its hilt resembles this seemingly Tibetan knife on the Therion Arms site: http://therionarms.com/antiques/com072.html

tom hyle · 23rd April 2005, 01:31 AM

That's a fairly normal Tibetan dagger on Therionarms; the name I have is thi, though I've seen another I can't recall; the general shape of the handle is rather similar, no?
Then there's the sheath (with frontal scabbard slide?), the chisel bevel (Tibetan daggers are usually wedge-section, I think, although this could be a special purpose knife of some sort, I suppose, or from a small ethnic group, etc.....), and the carvings on the handle, which are what remind me of Ainu work. That coin isn't tripping anyone's memory, huh? I've seen it before, and might even should know where it's from......
Thanks for the link, Rick; it really simplifies things

Rick · 23rd April 2005, 02:09 AM

Tom , that's an easy thing to do .
Just put your cursor on the address bar of the auction at the top of the page and click your left hand mouse button , a window will drop down , put your cursor on copy and click .
Then when you make a post here put your cursor in the message area click again and select paste from the drop down menu , click on that and voila ! The link appears .

It's great for us lazy people .

dennee · 23rd April 2005, 05:41 AM

Some of the straight utility knives (the sort found in the trousse sets) have beveled edges. Some modern tourist-type knives even have a ricasso and something of a bevel.

But I agree, Tom, that the carving and even the all-wood sheath seem unusual for a traditional Tibetan knife--at least for the ones I've seen.

tom hyle · 23rd April 2005, 03:03 PM

Yeah, and I don't directly know if the wooden sheath with its obvious missing bindings, but without metal oversheath nor hide covering, is unkown for Tibet, but I haven't seen it, and the scabbard slide seems odd for there, too; I usually see theirs on the back of the sheath, but similar to those on.....oh, heck, I foget the name; those N Arab jambiyas/jambiyesques with the recurved point....shabria.......which may be hand-n-hand with the metalness, though, and may be a more Western (Arab?) influence, for all I know; oh, round and round I go..............The only other nonhelpful thing I can add at the moment is that most if not all human cultures seem to have at least some chisel bevelled knives for special purposes. I supose this could as well be a fancy-handled work knife as a dagger.

22nd April 2005, 11:21 PM	#1
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Rick, I won't necessarily disagree, except that I thought that Bhutanese blades had those open scabbards like Naga daos. Fearn

22nd April 2005, 11:57 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Hi Fearn , I took a stroll through Artzi's sold section and I'm not so sure that this is a hard and fast rule with Tibet / Bhutan E.W.'s . This is obviously not a high status piece and may not have warranted an exposed blade .

23rd April 2005, 01:04 AM	#3
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	The open-scabbard knives or short swords are the traditional ban of the Lepcha people of Sikkim, but Lepchas are also in northern Bhutan and even eastern Nepal. "Drukpa" weapons in the north of Bhutan generally have a closed scabbard. (And in the south of Bhutan are many Nepalis who carry kukris.) The knife in question is more decorated, but its hilt resembles this seemingly Tibetan knife on the Therion Arms site: http://therionarms.com/antiques/com072.html

23rd April 2005, 01:31 AM	#4
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	That's a fairly normal Tibetan dagger on Therionarms; the name I have is thi, though I've seen another I can't recall; the general shape of the handle is rather similar, no? Then there's the sheath (with frontal scabbard slide?), the chisel bevel (Tibetan daggers are usually wedge-section, I think, although this could be a special purpose knife of some sort, I suppose, or from a small ethnic group, etc.....), and the carvings on the handle, which are what remind me of Ainu work. That coin isn't tripping anyone's memory, huh? I've seen it before, and might even should know where it's from...... Thanks for the link, Rick; it really simplifies things

23rd April 2005, 02:09 AM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Tom , that's an easy thing to do . Just put your cursor on the address bar of the auction at the top of the page and click your left hand mouse button , a window will drop down , put your cursor on copy and click . Then when you make a post here put your cursor in the message area click again and select paste from the drop down menu , click on that and voila ! The link appears . It's great for us lazy people .

23rd April 2005, 05:41 AM	#6
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	Some of the straight utility knives (the sort found in the trousse sets) have beveled edges. Some modern tourist-type knives even have a ricasso and something of a bevel. But I agree, Tom, that the carving and even the all-wood sheath seem unusual for a traditional Tibetan knife--at least for the ones I've seen.

23rd April 2005, 03:03 PM	#7
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Yeah, and I don't directly know if the wooden sheath with its obvious missing bindings, but without metal oversheath nor hide covering, is unkown for Tibet, but I haven't seen it, and the scabbard slide seems odd for there, too; I usually see theirs on the back of the sheath, but similar to those on.....oh, heck, I foget the name; those N Arab jambiyas/jambiyesques with the recurved point....shabria.......which may be hand-n-hand with the metalness, though, and may be a more Western (Arab?) influence, for all I know; oh, round and round I go..............The only other nonhelpful thing I can add at the moment is that most if not all human cultures seem to have at least some chisel bevelled knives for special purposes. I supose this could as well be a fancy-handled work knife as a dagger.