Chinese (?) knife

David · 17th December 2007, 01:16 AM

I ran across this little utility knife in an antique mall and the price seemed right so i bought it. 9" overall in the sheath, blade alone just under 4", 7 1/2" with the hilt.
The hilt grips could be ivory or some kind of horn. It gets translucent near the ferrule so it doesn't look like bone to me. I don't know what the black material is nor the "white" metal, but there does seem to be some copper involved.
The sheath seems to be some kind of low grade silver or maybe just nickel silver with a band of ray skin in the middle.
Any ideas as to place, date, usage would be welcome.

kronckew · 17th December 2007, 09:16 AM

looks tibetan.

Tim Simmons · 17th December 2007, 09:34 AM

Mongolia? I like the scabbard.

Bill M · 17th December 2007, 02:27 PM

Never seen one like it, but I would agree with Wayne. Tibetan side of the Chinese border.

josh stout · 17th December 2007, 04:04 PM

I have one that is very similar that a friend collected from the North West of China in a region of the Tibetan plateau that is outside the former border of Tibet. While it is inside China itself, it is an area that strangely has fewer Han and recent Han Chinese influence than Tibet itself. I am seeing more and more pieces coming out of far eastern Tibet/far western China, so I suspect that modernization and development are now reaching the area. In the early to late nineties when I had friends traveling in the region, men still commonly carried swords at their sides.
Josh

Jim McDougall · 17th December 2007, 05:36 PM

Tibetan puuko.

David · 17th December 2007, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Tibetan puuko.

I didn't know those irrassible vikings made it that far east.

ausjulius · 22nd December 2007, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

I didn't know those irrassible vikings made it that far east.

vikings didnt have a puukko, the puukko came from the far east and siberia ,,

the knife in the pick ,, looks to be baoan ... a moslem mongolian ethnic group from china..

language and culture is mixed between uzbek and mongols.. and some others

Emanuel · 22nd December 2007, 10:22 PM

It's a nice little knife. Ausjulius, do you mean the Uygur?

Emanuel

David · 23rd December 2007, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ausjulius

vikings didnt have a puukko, the puukko came from the far east and siberia ,,

the knife in the pick ,, looks to be baoan ... a moslem mongolian ethnic group from china..

language and culture is mixed between uzbek and mongols.. and some others

The Puuko as i understand it is the signature knife of Northern Europe, specifically Finland. That being the cased i guess my reference was a bit of a stretch since the Vikings, i believe, were a little to the west....but the far east? That seems a little off to me.

Well, at least according to Wiki the word is from the Finnish language, but can also apply to a Norwegian knife as well so perhaps my Viking reference isn't too far a field.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/puukko

David · 24th December 2007, 08:30 PM

Well, i found this on an internet site labeled 19thC Tibetan utility knife. I bit fancier, but with many of the same elements. They could be wrong as well, but it seems to reinforce a Tibetan origin.

Jim McDougall · 24th December 2007, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ausjulius

vikings didnt have a puukko, the puukko came from the far east and siberia ,,

the knife in the pick ,, looks to be baoan ... a moslem mongolian ethnic group from china..

language and culture is mixed between uzbek and mongols.. and some others

Obviously I made the puuko comment in jest, mostly because the blade reminded me of them and recent discussions on them.
What is interesting in the motif on the grip is the familiar circled dot, which as has been discussed many times, always recalls these on weapons and other items such as lohar and bushkazi whips from Afghanistan and adjacent regions (i.e.Uzbekistan).
Ausjulius, could you please say more on these Baoan people. It seems I once read about this Muslim people who were situated in the western frontier regions of China.

Best regards,
Jim

David · 27th December 2007, 06:55 PM

Hi Jim. Just for the record, i did, of course, realize that your original statement was in jest.

I was responding more to Ausjulius' statement that the puukko comes from the far east. That one still confuses me.

17th December 2007, 01:16 AM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,130	Chinese (?) knife I ran across this little utility knife in an antique mall and the price seemed right so i bought it. 9" overall in the sheath, blade alone just under 4", 7 1/2" with the hilt. The hilt grips could be ivory or some kind of horn. It gets translucent near the ferrule so it doesn't look like bone to me. I don't know what the black material is nor the "white" metal, but there does seem to be some copper involved. The sheath seems to be some kind of low grade silver or maybe just nickel silver with a band of ray skin in the middle. Any ideas as to place, date, usage would be welcome. Attached Images

24th December 2007, 08:30 PM	#11
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,130	Well, i found this on an internet site labeled 19thC Tibetan utility knife. I bit fancier, but with many of the same elements. They could be wrong as well, but it seems to reinforce a Tibetan origin. Attached Images

17th December 2007, 09:16 AM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,187	looks tibetan.

17th December 2007, 09:34 AM	#3
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	Mongolia? I like the scabbard.

17th December 2007, 02:27 PM	#4
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Never seen one like it, but I would agree with Wayne. Tibetan side of the Chinese border.

17th December 2007, 04:04 PM	#5
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	I have one that is very similar that a friend collected from the North West of China in a region of the Tibetan plateau that is outside the former border of Tibet. While it is inside China itself, it is an area that strangely has fewer Han and recent Han Chinese influence than Tibet itself. I am seeing more and more pieces coming out of far eastern Tibet/far western China, so I suspect that modernization and development are now reaching the area. In the early to late nineties when I had friends traveling in the region, men still commonly carried swords at their sides. Josh

17th December 2007, 05:36 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,957	Tibetan puuko.

22nd December 2007, 10:22 PM	#9
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	It's a nice little knife. Ausjulius, do you mean the Uygur? Emanuel

27th December 2007, 06:55 PM	#13
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,130	Hi Jim. Just for the record, i did, of course, realize that your original statement was in jest. I was responding more to Ausjulius' statement that the puukko comes from the far east. That one still confuses me.