Mechanical Damascus Koumya Blade

RobT · 3rd May 2024, 01:19 AM

Thanks to all who have responded,
On the first blade close-up on my initial post I do see the differential heat treatment on both edges but to me, the section between the two edges shows a different pattern and to me it appears to be mechanical damascus. In regards to the differential heat treatment, this is the only koumya blade in my collection with this feature. Does anyone out there have a koumya with this treatment that they can show us?

Sajen,
Thanks for your complement on my repair. I must however say that I have no trouble whatsoever distinguishing a koumya intended for sale only to tourists from one that a Moroccan would be willing to wear amongst his peers. If a koumya is of good quality, then it was made for sale to Moroccans and non-Moroccans alike. Tourist koumya on the other hand are identifiable by their thin metal, crudely designed and roughly finished elements, and poor construction. In short, they look cheap.The photos I have provided do not show a cheap looking item. It is undeniably of good quality. In any event, I would be willing to bet the ranch that no tourist koumya would be stamped with a maker’s mark and have a differentially heat treated blade.

It is interesting that, in this discussion to date, no comment has been made about the other anomalies that I noted (save for the mention of sparse decoration by Rick). All of these features are found on other jambiya and may point to where the item in this post was made.

Sincerely,
RobT

3rd May 2024, 01:19 AM	#10
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 456	Thanks For the Responses Thanks to all who have responded, On the first blade close-up on my initial post I do see the differential heat treatment on both edges but to me, the section between the two edges shows a different pattern and to me it appears to be mechanical damascus. In regards to the differential heat treatment, this is the only koumya blade in my collection with this feature. Does anyone out there have a koumya with this treatment that they can show us? Sajen, Thanks for your complement on my repair. I must however say that I have no trouble whatsoever distinguishing a koumya intended for sale only to tourists from one that a Moroccan would be willing to wear amongst his peers. If a koumya is of good quality, then it was made for sale to Moroccans and non-Moroccans alike. Tourist koumya on the other hand are identifiable by their thin metal, crudely designed and roughly finished elements, and poor construction. In short, they look cheap.The photos I have provided do not show a cheap looking item. It is undeniably of good quality. In any event, I would be willing to bet the ranch that no tourist koumya would be stamped with a maker’s mark and have a differentially heat treated blade. It is interesting that, in this discussion to date, no comment has been made about the other anomalies that I noted (save for the mention of sparse decoration by Rick). All of these features are found on other jambiya and may point to where the item in this post was made. Sincerely, RobT