Hi Guys,
I may be able to shead a little light onto the squared rib debate on the jambiya blade. It's my experience that the rib is squared to that the dagger can fit neatly into the scabbard. As the scabbards are made in bulk as a separate process to the making of the dagger, they are not fitted uniquely and are of variable quality. In other words the scabbard is nowadays not uniquely made for each dagger. Some craftsmanship has been lost over the years in this area. So they adjust the rib on the blade by grinding so as to produce a snug fit.
The extension of this process is that a squared rib is usually indicative of a more recent manufacture, or blade replacement, but can apply to a solid as well as a hollow blade.
My observation only,
Steve
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