Here from Afghanistan - Yeeeowweeeee!!!

[Rusty]

Greg got my PO Box from me late week before last. I've been checking the box bout every day sometimes twice ( only once most Sundays ).

It arrived on Saturday the 19th but the card wasn't put up until this morning. They have lockers for oversize stuff they put up on Saturdays and just stuff the key to the locker in your box, but this thing was too big to fit in the lockers.

22&1/2" blade, 28&1/2 point to butt, and a little i/2" tab to bring it to total of just about 29".

Looks like Camel bone over half the handles, with the rest of steel. Blade in great shape but thin black rust in spots. Exposed steel on front half of handle thouroughly patinated with black rust.

I love it Greg. For now I'll admire it. And probably later steel it back to sharpness. but just use of a smooth steel w/o any other form of change to it's condition.

In the meantime, thank you very much. It is a wonderful and significant gift I will treasure.

Now to sign off while I'm ahead. I'll have more thanks in a day or two when the utter gleefulness subsides and lets me think better. A quest! I must take it on a QUEST!!!

 

[Bill Martino]

Next time you hop up to Reno, Rusty, bring the knife and we'll get some pix -- if I can kick the camera just right!!!!

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

I'm glad you like your rusty old knife Rusty, it's a bit bigger than it looked in the picture ain't it? It was a rather curious "shopping trip" I had to take to acquire it. In the future I'll just stick to getting my blades from HI, less likelihood of turning more of my hair gray or worse. Of course there's some knives money just can't buy, like a certain pre-Bir Ghorka Shop two BAS, or a WWII with a dragon on the scabbard and a crescent moon on the blade. The Afghan knife is not meant as a trade by any means, just look at it as what goes around comes around.

Sarge

 

[not2sharp]

Sarge,

Nice gesture with the khyber knife. You have sent Rusty a guenuine little piece of 19th century Afghanistan. Perhaps now the locals will have a chance to settle down and regain some of their arts.

You mentioned on another thread that the locals were importing knives from Pakistan. Is the stuff getting into Afghanistan any better then the stuff that makes it over to US flea markets?

n2s

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

N2S:

The Pakistani knives I saw in Afghanistan were mostly about the same quality as what you're familiar with. I say mostly, because they are capable of making much better knives and do. I saw a lot of Russian bayonets, some crude but serviceable knives of recent local manufacture, the Pakistani knives already mentioned, and vary rarely a well made Afghan blade of some antiquity.

I recently saw a Khyber knife at a gun show, it was authentic but considerably smaller than Rusty's "knife". I asked the gentleman how much he wanted for it, and when he told me I just grinned and told him I knew where he could get one much cheaper, but he'd have to carry a gun and be ready to use it.

Sarge