About a Khodme

Emanuel · 31st March 2006, 04:17 AM

Hello, I've had this simple khodme for a while now and I've been thinking a lot about it lately. I have some questions , not least of which is whether it is a functional knife or a tourist piece.
First of all it is 29.5cm long, with a 17.5cm blade.
The scabbard is wooden and covered in red/tanned leather.

Two things are very weird about it; the guard seems to be an unnatural addition, and the blade seems to have been re-worked at the base/ricasso. It starts off 1mm thick at the base, thickens to 5mm for a good part of its length and finally tapers to a fine point. The metal is solid, it seems functional, but I can't understand the thinness at the base, where the blade has been widened/hammered. There are signs of glue at the guard, and the hilt has some play to it. The underside of the guard shows a slit for the blade/tang that is wider than the hilt and only 1m thick, supporting the reworked blade hypothesis. Such knives have been discussed many times before, but they didn't show these problems. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Manolo

Ian · 31st March 2006, 10:18 AM

Hi Manolo:

I think it is a reworked flyssa blade. The blade profile is unlike other khodmi I've seen which are pretty much straight along the spine and they don't come to a needle point like this example. The hilt looks similar to a khodmi with its wire-wrapped segment and square handle with circular designs, but khodmi don't usually have a guard and the handle usually has a hole through it for a cord or leather loop.

Close, but not a typical khodmi.

Ian.

Emanuel · 31st March 2006, 03:19 PM

Hello Ian,

If it were a flyssa blade I imagine it would be just the tip then. The handle does have a hole in it right above the wire wrap and bellow the concentric circles. I still wonder at the need to re-fashion the base of the blade in such a manner, why make it so thin and wide?
The whole thing is surprisingly solid, I tried bending it and the blade won't budge. The hilt does move lightly and it seems that the tang is very short, no longer than the wire wrapping.

Anyway, many thanks for the reply.
Manolo

Lew · 31st March 2006, 05:14 PM

Manolo

I have two flyssa one large and one small and I don't think as Ian stated that your knife was made from a flyssa blade it would have a thicker tapered spine. I really think this is a locally made variant of a khodmi made for the tourist trade. I have seen the same hilt and guard on a few versions one actually had a kris style blade with the same markings as yours. Here is a link to that kris bladed one. As you can see the kris bladed piece is a nonfunctional blade which leads me to think these knves are made for the tourist trade.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=6602494709

Lew

Emanuel · 1st April 2006, 02:22 AM

Hi Lew,

The ebay example is extreme! The decorations on the blade are nearly identical to those on mine, so I guess that answers my question about it being a tourist. Still interesting that a functional blade was reworked instead of grinding from thin metal like so many other examples.
I noticed another weird thing; the scabbard is embossed with figures on what would be the back, while the blade is decorated only on the front. Seems the merchants responsible for this piece weren't at all careful.

Thanks,
Manolo

31st March 2006, 04:17 AM	#1
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	About a Khodme Hello, I've had this simple khodme for a while now and I've been thinking a lot about it lately. I have some questions , not least of which is whether it is a functional knife or a tourist piece. First of all it is 29.5cm long, with a 17.5cm blade. The scabbard is wooden and covered in red/tanned leather. Two things are very weird about it; the guard seems to be an unnatural addition, and the blade seems to have been re-worked at the base/ricasso. It starts off 1mm thick at the base, thickens to 5mm for a good part of its length and finally tapers to a fine point. The metal is solid, it seems functional, but I can't understand the thinness at the base, where the blade has been widened/hammered. There are signs of glue at the guard, and the hilt has some play to it. The underside of the guard shows a slit for the blade/tang that is wider than the hilt and only 1m thick, supporting the reworked blade hypothesis. Such knives have been discussed many times before, but they didn't show these problems. Any thoughts? Regards, Manolo Attached Images

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31st March 2006, 10:18 AM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,198	Hi Manolo: I think it is a reworked flyssa blade. The blade profile is unlike other khodmi I've seen which are pretty much straight along the spine and they don't come to a needle point like this example. The hilt looks similar to a khodmi with its wire-wrapped segment and square handle with circular designs, but khodmi don't usually have a guard and the handle usually has a hole through it for a cord or leather loop. Close, but not a typical khodmi. Ian.

31st March 2006, 03:19 PM	#3
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hello Ian, If it were a flyssa blade I imagine it would be just the tip then. The handle does have a hole in it right above the wire wrap and bellow the concentric circles. I still wonder at the need to re-fashion the base of the blade in such a manner, why make it so thin and wide? The whole thing is surprisingly solid, I tried bending it and the blade won't budge. The hilt does move lightly and it seems that the tang is very short, no longer than the wire wrapping. Anyway, many thanks for the reply. Manolo

31st March 2006, 05:14 PM	#4
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Manolo I have two flyssa one large and one small and I don't think as Ian stated that your knife was made from a flyssa blade it would have a thicker tapered spine. I really think this is a locally made variant of a khodmi made for the tourist trade. I have seen the same hilt and guard on a few versions one actually had a kris style blade with the same markings as yours. Here is a link to that kris bladed one. As you can see the kris bladed piece is a nonfunctional blade which leads me to think these knves are made for the tourist trade. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=6602494709 Lew

1st April 2006, 02:22 AM	#5
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hi Lew, The ebay example is extreme! The decorations on the blade are nearly identical to those on mine, so I guess that answers my question about it being a tourist. Still interesting that a functional blade was reworked instead of grinding from thin metal like so many other examples. I noticed another weird thing; the scabbard is embossed with figures on what would be the back, while the blade is decorated only on the front. Seems the merchants responsible for this piece weren't at all careful. Thanks, Manolo