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#1 |
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Central Valley, California
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This dagger (which I'm calling a khanjar) recently came into my possession. I'd be curious to know anyone's opinion on it. If it's old, how old and where from, or am I going to be sad to learn it's made for ebay? It has one of the more artistically accurate animals I've seen on a knife, but the horns do seem a tad outlandish and impractical for a actual-use knife. And, if it's actually period-made, if anyone would be willing to PM me a valuation, I'd be grateful.
Also I'd love to see any photos similar figural hilts in member's collections. Thanks! |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Yes, Indo-Persian Khanjar.
The handle is old, with spots of rust, tarnish and pitting. The blade, however, is pristine and the wootz pattern is very similar to modern Indian examples. There is some black mastique oozing from the slit in the handle. Epoxy? Where did you get it from? Rajastan? I am sorry for my paranoid remarks, but that's IMHO. |
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#3 |
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Location: Europe
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Ariel you came first:-), but I would also like to know, what are the flaws on the blade in the third picture?
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#4 | |
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Location: USA
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#5 |
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The black lines on the blade in photo 3 are easier to see in the photo than in person, but the upper one looks like a crack or surface forging flaw, and the lower one definitely looks like a crack, particularly because it has a similar line directly on the other side of the blade. I can just barely feel their presence rubbing the point of a toothpick across them.
I can't tell what the black material holding the blade in place is. Is black an unlikely color for an authentic piece? The blade doesn't seem much more pristine than a real antique (authenticated by Bonham's) kard I have. But, on the khanjar's blade there's no rust/etc at the base of the blade where it meets the hilt (ie in the hard-to-clean places), that does point more towards newness, I guess, particularly with the hilt having pitting. I didn't get the knife in Rajastan, no. It was in the US. And I'm slightly confounded that now there are opposite opinions on what's old and what isn't. Maybe both are new? Or old? And the hilt design; it seems plausible as an old piece? |
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#6 | |
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I do not know of any newly made Indian blades that have the look of yours and as for it being fairly clean looking this can be explained in several ways. Unless someone can come up with an example of a similar looking wootz blade that is definitely newly made I would assume that the blade is old and the handle is one of two possibilities, original / old or more recent. Last edited by estcrh; 23rd August 2016 at 09:07 PM. |
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#7 | |
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#8 |
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I feel relatively certain that it's a marriage; the blade and hilt did not originate together. I base this on the condition of the hilt, especially near the blade insertion area, relative to the seeming total lack of corrosion on the blade.
When you finally decide you can no longer live with the tension caused by this dichotomy, I'd be pleased to take it off your hands. |
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#9 |
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![]() ![]() Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 23rd August 2016 at 08:51 AM. |
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#10 |
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It is not uncommon for broken blades from other weapons to be incorporated into daggers... I think the damage near the hilt is because of this re match.... Nice hilt and a good example of the Zoomorphic nature of these daggers.
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#11 | |
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Regards, Detlef |
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#12 | |
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#13 | |
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#14 | |
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The wootz is not crystalline but modern wootz tend to be similar to it. The cracks are not sign of age but sign of forging flaws which can happen to this day (unless you believe in the miracle of modern technology, which I doubt Rajastanis are using in mass) |
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#15 | |
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#16 | |
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#17 | |
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Take a look at this, the cracks in the metal, the lack of wear, the wootz pattern, there is some red rust, this makes me think that the steel rams head dagger being discussed here is of the same type, a modern made replica. The rams head hilt is atypical with other similar examples and while it is pitted there is no sign of wear as you would expect to see on a 100+yr old dagger and there is a small amount of what looks like red rust on it as well. To many warning signs in my opinion. |
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#18 |
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I'm glad we're moving towards consensus. On the other hand, it's a disappointing consensus.
Oh well; they can't all be antiques. |
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