"jaws" or " eyelashes" markings on Arabian/Indian blades

ariel · 12th December 2012, 11:50 PM

Thanks, Jim!
Caucasians, apparently, had several kinds of Gorda ( Gurda is a russian modification), but the appearance and the meaning of those are debatable.
Gorda Majjar likely ( perhaps?) comes from the ancient Khazar/ Golden Horde town Majjar ( any relation to Islamic Central Asian Mazar ,- sanctuary, burial place? Like Mazar-i-Sharif?). Then there is Gorda Assel ( ancient, apparently, but the meaning? "As" or "asil" locally means Large, Noble, or is it coming from the ancient Ases, local tribe?).
Gorda El Murza: after some person?

That's all I learned on the Russian Forum from extremely educated and knowledgeable colleagues.

With time, blades with this mark acquired a life and a reputation of their own: one could say " I have a real Gorda", and everybody knew what he was talking about.

I just wanted to know whether a somewhat similar process and attitude were applicable to the blades with this mark in other cultures. After all, the Arabs referred to their best knives as "Rodgers" irrespective of their manufacturing source.

Jim McDougall · 13th December 2012, 02:29 AM

Hi Ariel,
I knew you already knew most of this stuff, especially on the Caucasian names, but I wanted to include overview for those out there reading.
It really would be interesting to learn some of the more colloquial terms used in local parlances in these various cultures for certain weapon forms and blades based on these kinds of associations.
The term 'Rodgers' used by the Arabs I had not heard of, but of course refers to the famed Sheffield maker. It seems funny that so many of the prevalent 'Bowie' knives here were made in Sheffield.
I do know that many of the German blades were referred to as 'Alamain' in India. It seems Elgood mentions blades termed 'mayyar' or to the effect of Magyar for the Hungarian imports.

Hopefully some of our readers in the countries noted might be aware of some terms used to describe these 'sickle' marked blades.
Really is a great topic!!!

Best regards,
Jim

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12th December 2012, 11:50 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Thanks, Jim! Caucasians, apparently, had several kinds of Gorda ( Gurda is a russian modification), but the appearance and the meaning of those are debatable. Gorda Majjar likely ( perhaps?) comes from the ancient Khazar/ Golden Horde town Majjar ( any relation to Islamic Central Asian Mazar ,- sanctuary, burial place? Like Mazar-i-Sharif?). Then there is Gorda Assel ( ancient, apparently, but the meaning? "As" or "asil" locally means Large, Noble, or is it coming from the ancient Ases, local tribe?). Gorda El Murza: after some person? That's all I learned on the Russian Forum from extremely educated and knowledgeable colleagues. With time, blades with this mark acquired a life and a reputation of their own: one could say " I have a real Gorda", and everybody knew what he was talking about. I just wanted to know whether a somewhat similar process and attitude were applicable to the blades with this mark in other cultures. After all, the Arabs referred to their best knives as "Rodgers" irrespective of their manufacturing source.

13th December 2012, 02:29 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,851	Hi Ariel, I knew you already knew most of this stuff, especially on the Caucasian names, but I wanted to include overview for those out there reading. It really would be interesting to learn some of the more colloquial terms used in local parlances in these various cultures for certain weapon forms and blades based on these kinds of associations. The term 'Rodgers' used by the Arabs I had not heard of, but of course refers to the famed Sheffield maker. It seems funny that so many of the prevalent 'Bowie' knives here were made in Sheffield. I do know that many of the German blades were referred to as 'Alamain' in India. It seems Elgood mentions blades termed 'mayyar' or to the effect of Magyar for the Hungarian imports. Hopefully some of our readers in the countries noted might be aware of some terms used to describe these 'sickle' marked blades. Really is a great topic!!! Best regards, Jim