Jambiya Blade Construction

kahnjar1 · 24th August 2009, 10:09 PM

I would like some comment on the construction methods of ribbed Jambiya/Khanjar blades. I notice that a lot of these, particularly later/modern examples originating, particularly from Yemen, are constructed in two pieces, and then fused together in some manner. I personally have always regarded these as "not genuine", but simply a method of easily forging blades to attach to mass produced Jambiya. There are however some modern pieces which do have a solid blade. I have very recently taken a chance on one of these, described as having a "one piece blade", and although I do not regard it as old, it does, at a VERY cheap price, fill a small gap in my collection until I have the serious funds available to replace it with the real thing. I do not yet have it to hand, so can not really comment any further until it arrives. Pics are sellers.
Meanwhile, I would be most interested to hear comments re these two piece blades.
Regards Stuart

Michael Blalock · 24th August 2009, 11:39 PM

While the Jambiyas with two piece blades are not the better ones, they should not necessarily be disregarded as tourist pieces. Having lived in Yemen before the existence of tourism in that country I used to watch a few jambiya makers in their shops in the Taiz souk. I only witnessed the fabrication of the two piece jambiyas with zebu horn. The jambiya maker sat cross legged in a small space. With a water pipe, a small anvil, a white gas blow torch to heat and braze the blade. I recall that they used a garden spade shaped tool to work the rib into the metal. They would periodically heat the blade with the blow torch.
Every Yemeni man wore a Jambiya. Jambiyas were even made for young boys. I am wearing one of these child’s Jambiyas in my avatar. With a population of several million at that time there must have been a demand for hundreds or thousands of new Jambiya’s each day. I recall that my Jambiya was about 2-3 reals and my dad brought the fine ones for 20-30 reals. I think the exchange rate was 4 reals to the dollar and those were silver Maria Theresa Thallers. Our servants were paid one real per day.
Even today, Yemen is an impoverished country with a population of 24 million. For 40% of the population the average daily income is less than a dollar. I would bet the vast majority of Yemenis can only afford these two pieces blades.

Lew · 24th August 2009, 11:59 PM

Stuart

I approached this subject some time ago here is the link.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=jambiya

The rib on your new purchase is squared which to me seems two pieces pressed together.

Lew

kahnjar1 · 25th August 2009, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

Stuart

I approached this subject some time ago here is the link.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=jambiya

The rib on your new purchase is squared which to me seems two pieces pressed together.

Lew

Hi Lew,
I hoped you would reply to this, and thanks for the link to the previous thread. I see that I replied to that one at the time also, and my thoughts/cautions re Yemeni blades was expressed then. I can imagine that in a poor country, cheap methods of manufacture would prevail for the "masses" but I would still like opinions regarding the genuine-ness (if its a correct word) of these sandwich blades. Your comments in the previous thread regarding age is very helpful, and I would like to comment about a much older piece, but the Forum rules do not allow me to do this at the moment.
Sufficient to say that the piece shown in the pic, has according to the seller, a solid blade. I can only assume from that comment, that its is not two piece. When it arrives I will know more, and by then I should be able to make further comment within the rules also.

Thanks also to Michael for his historical input to these different blade making styles. He confirms my suspicion that the two piece construction is much cheaper and easier to make. The fact that these were made as a type for the poorer person, also confirms for me these these are indeed a genuine article, and not just something cheap to lure tourists.
Regards Stuart

Steve · 25th August 2009, 04:53 AM

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

kahnjar1 · 25th August 2009, 07:05 AM

Hi Steve,
I personally do not think that square vs rounded has anything to do with the scabbard fit. Most, if not all the scabbards of Jambiyas/Khanjars I have in my collection do NOT have "fitted" scabbard centres, but are as shown in this pic: simply a curved profile on both internal sides. IF scabbards are made in bulk and mated with Jambiya at a later stage, the more important aspect would be to do with blade length, width and curvature.
Regards Stu

24th August 2009, 10:09 PM	#1
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,741	Jambiya Blade Construction I would like some comment on the construction methods of ribbed Jambiya/Khanjar blades. I notice that a lot of these, particularly later/modern examples originating, particularly from Yemen, are constructed in two pieces, and then fused together in some manner. I personally have always regarded these as "not genuine", but simply a method of easily forging blades to attach to mass produced Jambiya. There are however some modern pieces which do have a solid blade. I have very recently taken a chance on one of these, described as having a "one piece blade", and although I do not regard it as old, it does, at a VERY cheap price, fill a small gap in my collection until I have the serious funds available to replace it with the real thing. I do not yet have it to hand, so can not really comment any further until it arrives. Pics are sellers. Meanwhile, I would be most interested to hear comments re these two piece blades. Regards Stuart Attached Images

25th August 2009, 07:05 AM	#6
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,741	Hi Steve, I personally do not think that square vs rounded has anything to do with the scabbard fit. Most, if not all the scabbards of Jambiyas/Khanjars I have in my collection do NOT have "fitted" scabbard centres, but are as shown in this pic: simply a curved profile on both internal sides. IF scabbards are made in bulk and mated with Jambiya at a later stage, the more important aspect would be to do with blade length, width and curvature. Regards Stu Attached Images

24th August 2009, 11:39 PM	#2
Michael Blalock Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: dc Posts: 271	While the Jambiyas with two piece blades are not the better ones, they should not necessarily be disregarded as tourist pieces. Having lived in Yemen before the existence of tourism in that country I used to watch a few jambiya makers in their shops in the Taiz souk. I only witnessed the fabrication of the two piece jambiyas with zebu horn. The jambiya maker sat cross legged in a small space. With a water pipe, a small anvil, a white gas blow torch to heat and braze the blade. I recall that they used a garden spade shaped tool to work the rib into the metal. They would periodically heat the blade with the blow torch. Every Yemeni man wore a Jambiya. Jambiyas were even made for young boys. I am wearing one of these child’s Jambiyas in my avatar. With a population of several million at that time there must have been a demand for hundreds or thousands of new Jambiya’s each day. I recall that my Jambiya was about 2-3 reals and my dad brought the fine ones for 20-30 reals. I think the exchange rate was 4 reals to the dollar and those were silver Maria Theresa Thallers. Our servants were paid one real per day. Even today, Yemen is an impoverished country with a population of 24 million. For 40% of the population the average daily income is less than a dollar. I would bet the vast majority of Yemenis can only afford these two pieces blades.

24th August 2009, 11:59 PM	#3
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Stuart I approached this subject some time ago here is the link. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=jambiya The rib on your new purchase is squared which to me seems two pieces pressed together. Lew

25th August 2009, 04:53 AM	#5
Steve Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 58	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