Kazakhcha Style Pchak?

[RobT]

Hi All,

Given the wealth of information provided to me in my previous pchak post, I decided to see what ya'll make of this old veteran. The pitted blade and broken tip show that it has had a hard life (the hilt scales look like something taken from a Hallstatt burial site). If the tip were intact, the blade would measure about 21.3cm (8-3/8") and the spine is about 5.5mm (about 7/32") at the hilt. Distal taper is slight (only really present in the clip point). The bolsters appear to be copper. Immediately behind the bolster, the hilt scales are decorated with a vertical row of dots sandwiched between two vertical lines that parallel the bolster. Behind the second of these lines is a third line. The scales are held onto the tang with three steel rivets. Two of the rivets are encircled by a pattern of four dots but the rivet at the butt has six dots. The scales (antler?) aren't really eared but do widen out towards the butt. Just before the butt, the scales are notched and that notch is echoed in the tang. There is a portapee loop at the end of the tang. The sheath is formed from two pieces of leather stitched along the edge and spine. Presumably the leather covers two pieces of wood which appear to be also held together with twine or a thong up by the throat. The shape of the sheath matches the blade shape and the blade fits perfectly. Given the good condition and apparent newness of the sheath, it would appear that the knife was in use relatively recently.

Sincerely,
RobT

[ariel]

This one :
_-Is not a Kazakhcha. Those are fishermen knives for people living next to the Aral Sea. The back goes down at ~ a quarter distance from the tip ( point, and then goes up to the axis of the blade or forms a long gradual downward line to the point. In both cases, this forms something like a wide indentation or thinning with ( very often) false edge , allegedly to remove scales.
In both cases the distal part of the blade is quite narrow.


- Your blade is either the so-called Tolbargi ( ivy leaf) : spine goes down abruptly to the point situated at or below the axis of the blade. Used mainly for butcher works, ie meat cutting.
Alternatively, it may be, as you suggested, just a Kaike or Tugri: straight spine with one or two narrow fullers, used mainly for slaughtering animals. Both might have had broken off point and re-formed.
I tend to believe it reminds more of Tolbargi: the upper surface of the tang has multiple indentations ( hammering to ease the butcher's job).

- I also think it is not Uzbeki at all: the handle is very different and made ( likely) of elephant ivory, which is greatly atypical for the purely utilitarian Uzbeki knives. My guess it is either Indian or Afghani.

Also, traditional and old Uzbeki P'chak ( or Pichak) blades were not made of damascus or any hard steel. The steel was, in fact, very soft: much cheaper to produce and able to be sharpened by any rock found on the ground or just by the bottom of ceramic " piala", a tea cup. These knives were strictly utilitarian and the effort of maintaining them in a workable condition was brought down to the minimum. They whittled down easily and just replaced. Cheap mass production, very different from what they are sold for today as souvenirs.

[ariel]

If my description of Kazakhcha variant of P'chak was confusing, here is a picture of actual Kazakhcha,

[RobT]

Ariel,

Thanks for the response. Now that you pointed it out, a tolbargi with a broken tip seems very plausible and would match the shape of the sheath at the tip. Since the blade has no fullers, I think either a kayke or tugri is unlikely. The hilt could very well be ivory. Given its condition, I really can't be sure but one would think that the owner of an ivory hilted knife would have taken better care of it. The blade steel is probably pretty good because the knife seems to have age to it and the edge appears to be close to its original profile. As you pointed out, mild steel would have been sharpened away. By the way, the site I found translated tolbargi as willow leaf.

Sincerely,
RobT