Jerz or Musandam axes arrived yesterday.

David R · 22nd December 2022, 02:04 PM

Just the heads, no shaft and I was the only bidder. Vendors photo's are the best as the ones I took were quick and dirty with light from the window. Not sure if these were cast or forged, but they are steel and as sharp as good quality wood chisels.

gp · 22nd December 2022, 02:24 PM

My first thought was, after seeing the pic with the axe between your fingers, you ripped off one of Snow White's dwarfs...

but checking out this :

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18618

I was proven wrong

very nice one! my compliment ! ☼

kronckew · 23rd December 2022, 09:13 AM

Another thread on musandam Jerz axes: Link
It has other links as well.
Transliterated from the original Arabic, there are alternate western spellings, jerz, jers, mussendam, mussandam, musendam, etc.
haft is a desert tree branch of some sort, blade is a small razor.

Mine:

ariel · 25th December 2022, 08:47 PM

Both are examples of Jerz.
But there is a much rarer variety from the Bedu inhabitants of the Wahiba Sands in Northern Oman, called Qaddum.
It differs from Jerz by the absence of any decorations, i.e. incisions or brass inlays, but otherwise they are virtually identical in form and size. The Qaddums are made in the town of Sinaw. Jerz were made in the town of Limah, then the last master died, but since 2003 their manufacture was revived in the ton of Khasab. As expected, most of the modern examples are imported frm India and Pakistan.
Other than that, the shafts of Jerz are made of mizi wood, Arabian Almond (Prunus Arabica), or sidr wood ( Lotus Jujube), while Qaddum shafts are made of ghaf wood (Prosopis Cineraria), the only source of wood in Wahiba Sands. I have no idea how to distinguish them:-(.

Most likely, both varieties are just variants of the same implement that somehow acquired independent existence due to the geography of habitation.

Warning: this is NOT the evidence of my wisdom and deep knowledge:-))).
I simply just bought a book by Vincenzo Clarizia " Ancient weapons of Oman", 2022, vol.1. Vol.2 is about Omani firearms, and this is not the area of my interest,

This book contains a lot of unexpected snippets of information about Omani weapons. Highly recommend to all lovers of weapons of South Aravia and even beyond. Read and see what I mean:-)

In the earlier topic I have already noted virtual identicity of Jerz/Qaddum with Carpathian axes and even with Alpenstocks. This is a good example of parallel development in the populations living in the mountais.

David R · 25th December 2022, 10:14 PM

Re. the current product coming from India, these other two from the same vendor certainly did. A little bigger than the steel ones at 3.2 inches long, and brass with "made in India" labels.

ariel · 25th December 2022, 11:58 PM

Thanks for the confirmation.

gp · 26th December 2022, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

This is a good example of parallel development in the populations living in the mountais.

I am sorry but wouldn't that be rather wishfull thinking of a non scientific nature ?
No disrespect intended but the first true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period (ca. 6000 BC), where axes made from antler were used that continued to be utilized in the Neolithic in some areas. Chopping tools made from flint were hafted as adzes. Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic

So when taking the axes you mentioned, the history of axes has evolved quite from those days and most likely their origins known to the several peoples one might presume instead of a paralel development. But than again, I might be wrong as I am no scolar ...

ariel · 26th December 2022, 04:41 PM

You are absolutely correct: axes are encountered in virtually every culture since times immemorial. But I was talking about the length of the haft.

Bartka/valaska of the Carpathian region, Alpenstock of the Alps region, Jerz/ Qaddum of the Southern Aravia all have very long ( ~1 meter) hafts. They are “multitools”, serving not only chopping function, but also helping in walking/ climbing over mountains. And all of them are first and foremost walking aids.

Thus, their small size of axheads might have been a compromise between the efficiency of only occasional need of chopping and the disadvantage of their weights ( compromising walking/climbing). Pure speculation on my part:-)

22nd December 2022, 02:04 PM	#1
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,079	Jerz or Musandam axes arrived yesterday. Just the heads, no shaft and I was the only bidder. Vendors photo's are the best as the ones I took were quick and dirty with light from the window. Not sure if these were cast or forged, but they are steel and as sharp as good quality wood chisels. Attached Images

23rd December 2022, 09:13 AM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,187	Another thread on musandam Jerz axes: Link It has other links as well. Transliterated from the original Arabic, there are alternate western spellings, jerz, jers, mussendam, mussandam, musendam, etc. haft is a desert tree branch of some sort, blade is a small razor. Mine: Attached Images

25th December 2022, 08:47 PM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Both are examples of Jerz. But there is a much rarer variety from the Bedu inhabitants of the Wahiba Sands in Northern Oman, called Qaddum. It differs from Jerz by the absence of any decorations, i.e. incisions or brass inlays, but otherwise they are virtually identical in form and size. The Qaddums are made in the town of Sinaw. Jerz were made in the town of Limah, then the last master died, but since 2003 their manufacture was revived in the ton of Khasab. As expected, most of the modern examples are imported frm India and Pakistan. Other than that, the shafts of Jerz are made of mizi wood, Arabian Almond (Prunus Arabica), or sidr wood ( Lotus Jujube), while Qaddum shafts are made of ghaf wood (Prosopis Cineraria), the only source of wood in Wahiba Sands. I have no idea how to distinguish them:-(. Most likely, both varieties are just variants of the same implement that somehow acquired independent existence due to the geography of habitation. Warning: this is NOT the evidence of my wisdom and deep knowledge:-))). I simply just bought a book by Vincenzo Clarizia " Ancient weapons of Oman", 2022, vol.1. Vol.2 is about Omani firearms, and this is not the area of my interest, This book contains a lot of unexpected snippets of information about Omani weapons. Highly recommend to all lovers of weapons of South Aravia and even beyond. Read and see what I mean:-) In the earlier topic I have already noted virtual identicity of Jerz/Qaddum with Carpathian axes and even with Alpenstocks. This is a good example of parallel development in the populations living in the mountais. Last edited by ariel; 25th December 2022 at 09:02 PM.

25th December 2022, 10:14 PM	#5
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,079	Re. the current product coming from India, these other two from the same vendor certainly did. A little bigger than the steel ones at 3.2 inches long, and brass with "made in India" labels. Attached Images

22nd December 2022, 02:24 PM	#2
gp Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 726	My first thought was, after seeing the pic with the axe between your fingers, you ripped off one of Snow White's dwarfs... but checking out this : http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18618 I was proven wrong very nice one! my compliment ! ☼

25th December 2022, 11:58 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Thanks for the confirmation.

26th December 2022, 04:41 PM	#8
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	You are absolutely correct: axes are encountered in virtually every culture since times immemorial. But I was talking about the length of the haft. Bartka/valaska of the Carpathian region, Alpenstock of the Alps region, Jerz/ Qaddum of the Southern Aravia all have very long ( ~1 meter) hafts. They are “multitools”, serving not only chopping function, but also helping in walking/ climbing over mountains. And all of them are first and foremost walking aids. Thus, their small size of axheads might have been a compromise between the efficiency of only occasional need of chopping and the disadvantage of their weights ( compromising walking/climbing). Pure speculation on my part:-)