Afghan/Khyber Knife

[Norman McCormick]

Hi
As Afghan/Khyber things seem to be to the fore at the moment I thought this may be of some interest. O.A. length 18 1/4 inches blade length 12 3/4 inches with bone scales. As you can see the sheath has seen better days.
Regards,
Norman.

[mahratt]

Hi Norman

Good khyber knife!

[Norman McCormick]

Originally Posted by mahratt

Hi Norman

Good khyber knife!

Hi,
Thank you for your interest. I think this is probably a 19thc piece, have you any thoughts?
My Regards,
Norman.

[mahratt]

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi,
Thank you for your interest. I think this is probably a 19thc piece, have you any thoughts?
My Regards,
Norman.

Hi.
I think you're right and this is the middle - late 19th century

[ariel]

Hi Norman,
This is an honest khyber, no faking here. Regretfully those Pashtuns virtually never put the date on their weapons, and there are no objective features by which we can date them. So we can only look at the condition and guess. 1840? 1940? 1980? There are pics from the times of recent Russian occupation showing mujaheddins brandishing khybers. Field conditions determined everything. Fourty years of sun, rains,cold, heat are more than enough to age and degrade all organic materials. Yours has worn out scabbard, but the sword itself is in a very good condition and although blade was cleaned from patina, the bone handle is white.I wouldn’ t hazard a guess about its age, but it doesn’t matter much: it is a true fighter that was meant to kill, not to hang on a wall.
Enjoy!

[Norman McCormick]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your insights. I have attached a few more photos. The scales are not as white as they appear, more yellow in hand (my poor photography no doubt!) I have attached a photo that may give a better sense of scale. It's a big old knife more dirk sized. Thanks again.
My Regards,
Norman.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by ariel

Hi Norman,
This is an honest khyber, no faking here. Regretfully those Pashtuns virtually never put the date on their weapons, and there are no objective features by which we can date them. So we can only look at the condition and guess. 1840? 1940? 1980? There are pics from the times of recent Russian occupation showing mujaheddins brandishing khybers. Field conditions determined everything. Fourty years of sun, rains,cold, heat are more than enough to age and degrade all organic materials. Yours has worn out scabbard, but the sword itself is in a very good condition and although blade was cleaned from patina, the bone handle is white.I wouldn’ t hazard a guess about its age, but it doesn’t matter much: it is a true fighter that was meant to kill, not to hang on a wall.
Enjoy!

Indeed dates are always very speculative.

I've a very fine wootz Choora named and dated to 1901 with a sheath in of similar manufacture... I personally find the weapons from the region the hardest to date accurately.

Gavin