Two north african knives

[Emanuel]

Hello,

The top one is a knife from Bou-Saada yes, but I don't recognize the second one.

Looking at older Bou-Saada knives I have the feeling they are derived from the Corsican and Genovese style of knives often called "vendetta knives". Almost identical shape and construction in some cases. I can see "Genwi" knives making it so far south since it was a stop over on the caravan routes, 250km just south of the major ports on the Mediterranean.

As to whether they are still produced in Bou-Saada, I don't know. The place was a major French tourist destination from the 1930s until independence so I think a great deal of them were made for the tourist trade there. We see a lot of these on e-bay with very poor quality craftsmanship. Thin wavy blades, excessive decoration, poorly carved hilts. I think the forged integral bolsters stopped being a feature when the tourist purpose was popularized and the sturdiness stopped being a requisite.

Emanuel

[blue lander]

The only vendetta knives I've seen are the modern folding knife variety. The other bousaadi knives I've seen on this forum look more optimized for use as a dagger than mine. The tip on mine is dull and rounded and it's much thicker than you'd expect from a stabbing weapon. I don't know if this was by design or just careless craftsmanship. I still don't know what to make of the weird cutting edge. It could again be careless craftsmanship, the maker only bothered to sharpen one side, but there is a very slight bevel on the "flat" side so he had to have put some effort into that.

Edit: Another thing I just realized after looking at a dozen bousaadi knives on auction sites is that they all have a hole drilled through the handle, even the cheapo tourist ones. Mine doesn't.

I've been looking and looking for similar knives to that second one, but I haven't come up with anything. Maybe it was a "fantasy" piece made for tourists.

[Emanuel]

Here are two Corsican and Genovese knives. These particular ones are modern. The books "Petite Histoire du Stylet Corse" and "Il Coltello Genovese" show 18th-19th century examples that seem to be the inspiration for the Bou-Saadi knives, down to the wire-wrapped faceted handle.

The tip on your example might have been worn down over time. There have been discussions on this forum of these knives with very oddly bent tips. I can imagine them used many times to open jars, paint buckets and such.

The Corsican/Genovese knives did not generally have holes in the handles, but I have seen that did, with a lanyard passed through. This would be tied around the fist. I don't know if this usage was kept in Bou-Saada.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Emanuel

Hello,

The top one is a knife from Bou-Saada yes, but I don't recognize the second one.

Looking at older Bou-Saada knives I have the feeling they are derived from the Corsican and Genovese style of knives often called "vendetta knives". Almost identical shape and construction in some cases. I can see "Genwi" knives making it so far south since it was a stop over on the caravan routes, 250km just south of the major ports on the Mediterranean.

Just one comment here, I think it's difficult to say one is directly derived from the other. However I think it is pretty clear both come from a similar family of knives found around this area of the Mediterranean, likely established for a very long time.

The question of "which came first" is always I think a difficult one in these cases and there's a tendency to sometimes attribute ethnographic items as later, simply because they've remained in production longer.