Tourist trinkets? Bich'Hwa, Khatar, Jambiya

[celtan]

How do I _safely_ etch a blade?

Best
M

Originally Posted by TVV

Yup, tourist junk - I'd gladly take it off your hands, and even pay the shipping cost for a parcel from PR.

Now seriously, all of the items appear to date back to at least the 19th century and to be of above average quality, and certainly meant for use within the culture. Defeinitely not souvenirs.

You might want to try etching the blades as there is a high likelyhood that they may be made of wootz.

I wish I did this well whenever I bought things, which I knew little about.

Regards,
Teodor

[TVV]

Originally Posted by celtan

How do I _safely_ etch a blade?

Best
M

It's quite easy - you wash the blade and rub it with alcohol to make sure it is as clean as it can get, and then you dip it in some acidic solution. I prefer diluted vinegar: 1 part vinegar to 4 parts warm water. Then take out of the solution as soon as you are satisfied with the resulting pattern (assuming there is a pattern - keep in mind that sometimes the blade is plain steel and therefore there would be no pattern), wash with soap and dry thoroughly. If you search the forum, there are lots of threads on the subject.

The human effigies are typical of Persian art. I am not sure if it has anything to do with the Shia affiliation of the large majority in Persia, but it appears that living creatures depictions were not a tabu there, as opposed for example to the Sunni Ottoman Empire. I am not sure what material the hilt is made from, but it looks like bone from the picture - a pic of the pommel might help determine whether it is bone or ivory. Certainly does not look like bufalo horn.

Regards,
Teodor

[celtan]

Thanks T.,

Pics included

What's the big deal w this wootz steel? Is it a premium kind? All I know is that the vikings and celts in Spain used it.

Originally Posted by TVV

It's quite easy - you wash the blade and rub it with alcohol to make sure it is as clean as it can get, and then you dip it in some acidic solution. I prefer diluted vinegar: 1 part vinegar to 4 parts warm water. Then take out of the solution as soon as you are satisfied with the resulting pattern (assuming there is a pattern - keep in mind that sometimes the blade is plain steel and therefore there would be no pattern), wash with soap and dry thoroughly. If you search the forum, there are lots of threads on the subject.

The human effigies are typical of Persian art. I am not sure if it has anything to do with the Shia affiliation of the large majority in Persia, but it appears that living creatures depictions were not a tabu there, as opposed for example to the Sunni Ottoman Empire. I am not sure what material the hilt is made from, but it looks like bone from the picture - a pic of the pommel might help determine whether it is bone or ivory. Certainly does not look like bufalo horn.

Regards,
Teodor

[Emanuel]

I'll try to address some of your points.

The narrowness of Indian hilts has been discussed many times. In most cases we can either accept that the people who intended to use the katar (jamadhar) were of smaller stature, with smaller hands. In some cases also note that weapons were made for children.

The khanjar is representative of Qajar era styles. "Jambiya" was historically attributed to the Saudi/Yemeni variety of curved daggers. Khanjar is a broader term used in Oman and other Arab speaking or even Muslim countries outside the Arabian Peninsula.

About wootz, while there may be evidence of its use by Vikings this was very limited and through trade. Perhaps you are confusing with pattern-welded "damascus". Damascus is often used as an umbrella term for most any metal with a strong pattern. It can be mechanical or chemical. The first consists of forge welding steels with different carbon contents, twisting and folding them in order to produce a more or less homogeneous bar of steel with the same carbon content all the way through. When etched, the different types of steel show a different shade, depending on carbon content. This technology was indeed used by Celts, Vikings, and almost every other steel using culture on the planet.

The second, wootz, is "crucible steel" or essentially cast steel first produced in India ~2000 years ago. The cooling cycle of molten steel was controlled to produce a very specific crystalline structure in the steel. The pattern comes from this chemical structure, not from the mechanical welding of different metals. It was completely homogeneous and very hard.

Hope this helps, all of these points have been discussed many times on the forum and there are lots of threads on wootz and Indian weapons.

Regards,
Emanuel

- Some pics from Oriental Arms -
The top one is a wootz ingot
The next two pictures are of wootz katar (jamadhar) and shamshir blades
The bottom is of a pattern-welded yataghan blade with the "Turkish ribbon" pattern

[Battara]

When it comes to wootz like what is on the katar and khanjar/jambiya, I would send it to Philip Tom because he can polish it correctly and then etch it correctly.

[TVV]

Thanks for the pictures Manolo,

To me the hilt material looks like walruss ivory from the close-ups, as I can see the inner dentine part in the middle of the hilt.

[delor]

Yes that is walrus ivory, which was the most usual material with this kinf of dagger.