Small knife for ID

[Ian]

This knife came in an inexpensive auction lot labeled "Two Mexican Knives." The other knife was a larger Filipino knife from Luzon, more specifically from Laguna Province, and was probably late 19th-early 20th C. That knife was the one that interested me and this smaller one was a throw in.

However, I am stuck on what this knife is and where it came from. It does not look like anything Filipino that I have seen before, nor particularly Mexican.

The blade is clearly old, heavily pitted, and much used. The recurved edge and drop point suggest a domestic tool rather than a weapon to me, somewhat similar to a hansia found in Nepal and adjacent areas. The handle is bone, the partial tang is secured by a single large pin, and there is a small metal ferrule. The bone is deeply carved with scroll work.

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
.

[Sajen]

Hi Ian,

It's a piha kaetta, a simple one, from Sri Lanka IMVHO!

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Here a similar one sold by a German auction.

[A. G. Maisey]

Agreed.

[Ian]

Thank you Detlef and Alan!

I did not realize that piha kaetta came in a "simple" form. I don't think we have another example posted in the Forum. Any idea how old this one may be? How common are these knives and what were they used for? I would think they are utility knives, but would love to know more about them.

[Sajen]

Hi Ian,

Have seen a lot by auction houses and as well by epray over the years. And I guess like you that these are utility knives, maybe for cutting betel? I just don't know exactly.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

This type of knife is not something that I have much interest in these days --- 50 years ago I did, but I've moved past the "shotgun" approach.

However, my memory tells me that these were status pieces , given as gifts to court officials, noblemen, and foreign visitors. They were produced on command in only four Kandian royal workshops. They began to appear in the 18th century.

[Sajen]

So far I know there are different piha knives, all for different purposes. I don't think that the two shown examples here are status knives.
In old threads I found indeed only one similar example, see pic.
Here is some more information: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8431

[A. G. Maisey]

You're probably right Detlef, however, we must remember that there are different levels of status.

Or maybe forerunners of the higher quality pieces.

[Ian]

From Wikipedia

Several points raised below are clarified in this online material.

The piha kaetta, also sometimes called "The Kandyan Knife," is a knife or dagger native to the island of Sri Lanka. A typical piha kaetta has a straight-backed blade combined with a drop-point and a curved cutting edge. Many of the finest piha kaetta knives were produced in royal workshops, show very high levels of craftsmanship, and were given to courtiers and the nobility as status symbols.

During the golden age of the Mughal Empire in India from the 16th to the early 18th century, dagger production and use was widespread. These daggers were notable for their high-quality metalwork, fine ornamentation and distinctive, elegant forms. The graceful form found in many daggers and knives during the period indicates influence from the Islamic world. These daggers were often worn by princes and nobles for self-defence, for hunting, or for display. In combat, they were weapons for close-quarter combat, and some were capable of piercing the mail armor of Indian warriors.

Between the late 17th century and the 18th century, Sri Lanka began to locally produce the piha kaetta, a kind of knife with a graceful, recurved edge, they represent the south-easternmost extension of a blade shape similar to the Nepalese kukri and Turkish yatagan. Unlike the Mughal-influenced subcontinental daggers, which were mostly used as status symbols and in combat, the lower-quality piha kaetta of Sri Lanka were often employed for everyday use in farm work, or in the wilderness. However, the higher-quality weapons were essentially status symbols, but were also undoubtedly used in combat and for self-defence. The finest piha kaetta were made at the "four workshops" (pattal-hatara), a kind of craft guild where a selected group of craftsmen worked exclusively for the king and his royal court, or for others only by the king's permission. The name "four workshops" refer to respectively the "jewel", "crown", "golden sword," and "throne" workshops. In Sri Lanka, the arts of building, painting, ivory-carving, jewellery, etc. were in the hands of a hereditary guild or caste of craftsmen which occupied an honorable position.

The typical piha kaetta has a heavy blade about 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) to 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide and 5 inches (13 cm) to 8 inches (20 cm) long, with a very thick back, up to 0.4 inches (1.0 cm). The thick back of the blade combined with a slab-sided, triangular cross-section gives the blade great weight for its length; this imparts considerable momentum to the knife when used to cut. Most knives have a narrow, but deep, fuller near the back of the blade. Kaetta means a "beak" or "billhook," probably referring to the knife's down curving tip.

Simple piha kaettas are plain and made of steel with a wooden or horn hilt. Higher quality piha kaettas are finely decorated: the fuller, the section of blade below it and the back of the blade are often inlaid with thin sheet brass or silver panels, decorated with stylized patterns in repoussé and chasing. The hilts of high quality piha kaettas are made from a variety of materials e.g. precious metals (gold, silver), brass, copper, rock crystal, ivory, horn, steel or wood. The handles are of a characteristic shape, almost like the grip of a pistol, specific to the piha kaetta. Often the grip-scales are carved with the liya-pata, a stylized 'breaking wave' pattern. This type of handle usually has small silver plaques, often flower-shaped, pinned to each side and a larger, curving, repoussé silver or brass pommel-cap. Occasionally, the end of the handle is carved in the form of the head of a mythical figure, such as the sérapéṅdiya bird. The larger chopper-like knives are the true piha kaetta, the slimmer, straighter-bladed, more delicate knives, often provided with a silver-inlaid stylus in the same sheath, are more properly termed ul pihiya. Sheaths are of a light wood, usually longitudinally ribbed. They often have decorative sheet silver or brass sheathing at the throat, extending a variable distance down the length of the sheath.

[Ian]

One final point. The pia kaetta that I can find in online pictures all show a full tang hilt (in those where the tang can be distinguished in the pictures). This applies to the highly decorative versions and less decorative ones. My OP version has a partial tang only.