Originally Posted by colin henshaw

There is another reference to the manufacture of jambiya/khanjar blades, to be found in the book "Traditional Crafts of Saudi Arabia" by John Topham, page 136 :-

"While the sheaths were often made by local craftsmen, the blades were usually imported from Damascus or the Yemen"

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Palm and two swords... That belongs to Saudia does it not?
The flower form stamp is not Omani and further it does not exist on any Omani dagger or sword....It comes from what was part of Yemen, in the SW corner, absorbed in the 1920s.

Surely the whole point is deciding how this weapon came to be worn by two different tribes and in two different countries...? See the reference on al Wustah Khanjars at http://khanjar.om/Old.html Look at Types and under types see OLD. You may notice that in describing the Al Wustah that no mention is made of any name inscribed on the back or any flower stamp...I wonder why? Further observe how different Omani Khanjars are related to this form...indicating very certainly that it is Omani related ?

Since the important sea port was Sur and the trade contact point was Jazzan on the way to and from Zanzibar would it not be plausible that this dagger transferred to that region in the 19thC for which I have already indicated the Omani nickname after the regional capital Abha... Habaabi Khanjar...Of Abha ?

The khanjar in this example belongs to the Al Wusta governorate and it is on display in the Bait Al Zubair Museum, and features the following specifications:

The Al Wusta governorate khanjar See pictures at http://khanjar.om/Old.html and at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=omani+khanjar

1. Handle: This handle shares the same design as the Al Nizwani, Al Batini and Al Suri khanjar handles, but it is a little shorter, and is mixed with the Al Sifani handle as well. It is covered with al tikasir silver design carvings on the entire top and towards the bottom to the beginning of the ferrule with the left side edges without design silver, exposing the original handle material. The same designs design can be found in the first Al Saidi handle design.

2. Scabbard upper cover: The design on the scabbard upper cover area comes in overlapping square motifs with Omani and Islamic motifs surrounding a circular shape in the middle. The same designs design can be found on the Al Saidi scabbard upper cover in the first and second design.

3. Belt holder: This kind of khanjar comes with seven rings, three on the scabbard cover and four in the belt holder area. Connecting them are silver wires in the form of a strand of twisted wires known locally as sim mahius. Another feature of this area is that the two outer rings have a conical head shape which can be found on the Al Nizwani khanjar.

4. Scabbard cover: This area is covered by silver wire, in the form of sim mahius. What distinguishes this kind of khanjar is that these silver wire strings exist only on the lower half of both the al chandah, and al mekhalh. The design consists of al tikasir silver. The scabbard cover area is shaped diagonally from the top towards to the chape, more so than the rest of the Omani khanjars, and can only be found in the Al Suri khanjar. Linking the area of Al Mekhalh and the Belt silver chain are small balls called mirqat, which are attached to al mekhalh with the belt to make the khanjar slant when you wear it.

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

All conjecture. The backside could tell us a lot. But there are identical items with Saudi maker names on them, this one is no different. A Saudi khanjar in Oman and an Omani khanjar in Saudi is not uncommon.

Originally Posted by Gonzalo G

Thank you for sharing, Ibrahiim. All publications are welcome. They are impossible to find where I live. Except for the Internet.

Regards