Help with yatagans' inscriptions

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by ariel

Teodor,
I really enjoyed this thread . Thank you and the rest of the gang for posting them.
Regarding yours with the rhino handle.
There is a cavity between the cheeks. I do not think I have seen such a completely "disassembled" handle before. Anybody knows whether this space in yataghans in general was filled with some kind of putty or was the handle hollow inside and kept by rivets only? Of course, they all had some kind of metal ribbon around the entire handle.

I have had two Yats with portions of the grip strap missing and neither of them were filled, just the rivets holding the slabs against the strapping....the kilij seen here;

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13639

Also has a grip strap that requires attaching to the top and bottom near the guard and it too is not filled in completely, just appears that what has oozed past the tang during original application has fallen in the gap....perhaps a standard Turkish method of manufacture.