N.African knife for comment

[Bob A]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi All,

I have a number of khodmi with the symbol shown in the first blade close-up. The symbol looks like a pair of fish aligned tail to tail. Does anyone have any idea what the symbol means? By the way Bob A, nice khodmi. I have always thought that they are the best engineered, general purpose knives ever made. They are very sturdy and can be easily field repaired if the hilt comes loose from the blade.

Sincerely,
RobT

Thanks for the compliment, Rob, even though it rightfully belongs to the knife and its maker.

Close observation of the symbols you mention lead me to believe that they were probably made with the same stamp; the difference in appearance is due to the fact that one set had the stamps pushed together, and the other set had the stampings more separated.

I've been trying to figure out the date; it seems as though the first symbol is a "1", the third is possibly a "4". If I had to guessm the other two are either 2 or 3. I think that we can safely go with a guess of "3", making the date 1343, which converst to 1923 or 1924.

Does a date of 1924 seem reasonable for this knife?