jambiya dagger

[Adriboy]

my name Adrian, from Indonesia... I have one jambiya dagger from yamani that belongs to my family.. I want to have the help from everyone here who know that is my jambiya dagger is realy from yaman country? is it old and is it a good one or maybe just a standard souvenir for tourist weapon?

then is my dagger handle from standard bull horn, cow, wood, ivory or rhino horn, or else?

and about the leather, is it from real leather, plastic leather or else?

thanks if anyone can give information, since this dagger is beautiful for us and we want to keep it for my family... thanks alot then

[djoaov]

Hello, can you poste some photos?
thank you

[Adriboy]

Originally Posted by djoaov

Hello, can you poste some photos?
thank you

I already sending picture .. Can you help me to explain about my weapon? Thanks...

[Adriboy]

I also know many friends of this forum can help me to give information about this weapon. Is it real jambiya dagger from yaman? Is it old or the new one? About the blade, is it a good steel, and is it pure leather? And what kind of normal horn is the hilt? Thanks so much then..

[BANTARU]

hi Adriboy,

that is not a light test. to do a light test, you must flash the light very close to the handle like this:

btw how long have you had that Jambiya? Did you buy it or is it a family heirloom. I have heard that some Indonesian families have Yemeni ancestry. IF so then it is possible it is Rhino. It does look a bit like Rhino and not like normal horn. Any ways repeat the test as in the pic below. If you see the orange glow, you are in luck.

[Adriboy]

Hello.. Maybe my big old family have relationship or friendship with ancestor from yaman, arabian middle east who lalso live hear in Idonesia..

Since this three days, I begin to look at any kind of our native steel material, wood tree and horn or part of the body from animal ( such as ebony wood, teak timber, some other local timber, deer-cow-bull-ivory, tiger claw, pig, crocodile, bear and even jungle hen ) which using for hilt for our traditional weapon/ blade.. But maybe, none of them I see which similar to this hilt.. But the leather of this weapon almost surely look like as our animal leather ( I can said that this weapon is true using animal leather)...

I also read many topics in forum here, and said that if it is a typically dagger from yaman, maybe its hilt is from rhino horn..

So then about the test that you explain to me, is it a flash light test, not burning with lighter test? What about the test with smell hairy burning test with lighter? And also glass magnifier with eyes test which will see the material at the top end of the hilt will look like a bundle of "thin spaghetti"?
Thanks so much for your help.. Have a nice day then

[BANTARU]

Originally Posted by Adriboy

Hello.. Maybe my big old family have relationship or friendship with ancestor from yaman, arabian middle east who lalso live hear in Idonesia..

Since this three days, I begin to look at any kind of our native steel material, wood tree and horn or part of the body from animal ( such as ebony wood, teak timber, some other local timber, deer-cow-bull-ivory, tiger claw, pig, crocodile, bear and even jungle hen ) which using for hilt for our traditional weapon/ blade.. But maybe, none of them I see which similar to this hilt.. But the leather of this weapon almost surely look like as our animal leather ( I can said that this weapon is true using animal leather)...

I also read many topics in forum here, and said that if it is a typically dagger from yaman, maybe its hilt is from rhino horn..

So then about the test that you explain to me, is it a flash light test, not burning with lighter test? What about the test with smell hairy burning test with lighter? And also glass magnifier with eyes test which will see the material at the top end of the hilt will look like a bundle of "thin spaghetti"?
Thanks so much for your help.. Have a nice day then

hello there. the leather is real. anyways dont worry about it. Its not that important.

There are the following types of test for Rhino horn:

- Bounce: Rhino horn will bounce and not break when dropped from shoulder height. However , be careful. If your handle is not rhino, the dagger might break so keep this for the end or just dont do it if you are not sure.
Heat: Take a red hot pin and place it on the handle or if you can risk it, light a very tiny part of the horn. Burning rhino horn smells like burning hair.
Cut: The fibrous structure is visible when the surface, which may be shiny, is cut away. Dont try this, unless you want to disect your handle.
Light: Rhino horn displays luminescence when a torch is shone along its edge. Take the torch and place it close to the handle as i told you before.
Magnify: Fibres are more easily visible on the surface under low magnification. THese fibres look like orange peel/ hair strands or as you said, "thin spaghetti".

Selamat.

[kai]

Hello Adrian,

Welcome to the forum!

And also glass magnifier with eyes test which will see the material at the top end of the hilt will look like a bundle of "thin spaghetti"?

Yes, this is the only way to verify rhino horn. Look for surfaces which are reasonably smooth and close to vertical to the "grain" of the horn. In your example this would be the pommel end of the hilt, for example.

While there are a few hints which may point to your hilt being from rhino (texture at the upper corners of the attached close-up), I am not yet convinced that it really is rhino: the appaearance of the more obvious cracks in the hilt as well as the "blonde" streak at the gripping area do look more like "common" horn to me.

Regards,
Kai

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by BANTARU

hi Adriboy,

that is not a light test. to do a light test, you must flash the light very close to the handle like this:

btw how long have you had that Jambiya? Did you buy it or is it a family heirloom. I have heard that some Indonesian families have Yemeni ancestry. IF so then it is possible it is Rhino. It does look a bit like Rhino and not like normal horn. Any ways repeat the test as in the pic below. If you see the orange glow, you are in luck.

Salaams BANTARU.. That was a great explanation of the light test. I agree the hilt is Rhino at #1.
Rhino was commonly used on Yemeni daggers.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[BANTARU]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams BANTARU.. That was a great explanation of the light test. I agree the hilt is Rhino at #1.
Rhino was commonly used on Yemeni daggers.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaam Wajah,

Thank You. yes you are right.

[kai]

Originally Posted by BANTARU

It does look a bit like Rhino and not like normal horn. Any ways repeat the test as in the pic below. If you see the orange glow, you are in luck.

Hello Bantaru, welcome to the forum!

I agree that the hilt you showed us in post #12 does seem to be rhino: it does exhibit the orange peel look typical for old/weathered rhino horn and a close examination under magnification will probably show the characteristic microstructure (a 10x magnifying lens does help a lot with checking details of antique pieces, especially at stores, etc.); placing a strong light source next to the hilt often helps to observe this feature (a small LED pocket light is usually enough and also very versatile when checking out stuff).

However, the color is certainly not suitable for identifying rhino horn which can come in just about any color; also water buffalo horn can have a very wide range of colors - same-o with cattle, etc. ...

I'm attaching pics of a hilt that has a pommel as well as a ferrule crafted from horn that, from color and texture, would still be advertised by many (even experienced and well established) dealers as rhino but certainly isn't! (I believe this example is from patinated albino carabao horn.)

Regards,
Kai

[Robert]

Hello Adrian, and welcome to the forum. If you are having a problem posting photos of your dagger there is a sticky at the top of the page that will explain how it is done. Again, welcome to the forum.


Best,
Robert

[Adriboy]

I send additional pictures... thanks...

[A.alnakkas]

Hey Adrian,

This is a nice and authentic example. The hilt appears to be normal horn, but you can try a light test. Basically bring a flashlight to the hilt's head and take a photo :-)

[Adriboy]

flashlight to the hilt's head photos

[Adriboy]

flashlight to the hilt's head photos

[Adriboy]

Hello... What is normal horn.. Is it from bull, cow, deer, giraffe, rhino or else? I see the handle phisically not from wood, steel or stone material.. Can you help me about this kind of dagger and its hilt or handlle...

[Adriboy]

additional pictures from me.. thanks then