Where are they from?:-)))

ALEX · 2nd February 2017, 03:56 PM

Oliver, this may not be Turkmen kard in terms of location, but one theory is that this type was made by Turkmen (or possibly other Central Asian) people living in Syria. This is solely an unproven theory and this could be any ethnic group in the region including Kurds. However, these knifes are not well known to be Kurdish (to me

. Many have re-purposed blades from other weapons which could be an indication of whoever produced them not having easy access or means to producing their own, i.e. a minority group living in a foreign land. I believe Kurds had some access and means resulting in better defined style such as their trademark and relatively uniform "Kurdish Jambiya". Again, just an unsubstantiated thought.

ariel · 3rd February 2017, 04:56 PM

Turkmen.

The one on the left was extensively discussed quite some time ago on a Russian forum
http://forum.guns.ru/forummessage/79/1724159-5.html

They also discussed Kurdish, Syrian etc. origins , but all was based on "personal gut feelings". For me the most persuasive argument was a book page from a German book, where this construction of the handle was attributed to Northern Afghanistan ( likely Turkmen territory), Teke tribe. See also Alex's reference to identical knives attributed to Turkmenistan by Artzi Yarom and AshokaArts.

The "khyber" like knife can be attributed with higher degree of precision: see picture taken from an article by Yu. Botyakov and V. Yanborisov " Turkmeni Weapons"
The leftmost 4 images contain a picture of an identical dagger. They belong to the largest Turkmen tribe Teke, concentrating in the south of the countru, on the border with Afghanistan. Please pay attention to the pommel: just a cap. Very reminiscent to the handles on the earliest Ottoman yataghans of Bayazet and Suleiman and later Uzbek royal examples.
Equally intriguing, IMHO, is the rightmost image : "eared" pommel. This is a Saryk knife. Boldly assuming that this feature is of ancestral origin ( I am skating on a thin ice here!) , can we tie it to the classical yataghan characteristics?

2nd February 2017, 03:56 PM	#1
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	Oliver, this may not be Turkmen kard in terms of location, but one theory is that this type was made by Turkmen (or possibly other Central Asian) people living in Syria. This is solely an unproven theory and this could be any ethnic group in the region including Kurds. However, these knifes are not well known to be Kurdish (to me. Many have re-purposed blades from other weapons which could be an indication of whoever produced them not having easy access or means to producing their own, i.e. a minority group living in a foreign land. I believe Kurds had some access and means resulting in better defined style such as their trademark and relatively uniform "Kurdish Jambiya". Again, just an unsubstantiated thought. Last edited by ALEX; 2nd February 2017 at 04:12 PM.

3rd February 2017, 04:56 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Turkmen. The one on the left was extensively discussed quite some time ago on a Russian forum http://forum.guns.ru/forummessage/79/1724159-5.html They also discussed Kurdish, Syrian etc. origins , but all was based on "personal gut feelings". For me the most persuasive argument was a book page from a German book, where this construction of the handle was attributed to Northern Afghanistan ( likely Turkmen territory), Teke tribe. See also Alex's reference to identical knives attributed to Turkmenistan by Artzi Yarom and AshokaArts. The "khyber" like knife can be attributed with higher degree of precision: see picture taken from an article by Yu. Botyakov and V. Yanborisov " Turkmeni Weapons" The leftmost 4 images contain a picture of an identical dagger. They belong to the largest Turkmen tribe Teke, concentrating in the south of the countru, on the border with Afghanistan. Please pay attention to the pommel: just a cap. Very reminiscent to the handles on the earliest Ottoman yataghans of Bayazet and Suleiman and later Uzbek royal examples. Equally intriguing, IMHO, is the rightmost image : "eared" pommel. This is a Saryk knife. Boldly assuming that this feature is of ancestral origin ( I am skating on a thin ice here!) , can we tie it to the classical yataghan characteristics? Attached Images