It's not much...

Have the kid get his own knives so he's not in any danger, and some smoke poles too. Kids need to be safe too ya know?
 
Re-manifying that basement is a battle I know I'll never win so I'm not going to even try. But I do think I need to find more wall space somehow...

Anyways, back to the the Jambiya - I think the hilt is definitely some sort of horn. You can see the tubules in this close up. What surprised me is that the horn isn't translucent at all, but I guess they only turn that way with age. Overall I'm pretty satisfied I got a "real" Jambiya even if it isn't old.
View attachment 429433

Here's a closeup of the blade. There's signs of file work so I guess it wasn't stamped out by a machine. Or at least it was hand finished. I didn't realize how filthy it is, better windex it.
View attachment 429447
 
Last edited:
Anyone familiar with the Kizlyar brand? Russian handmade knives...

I was not until this week, and I chose to give them a shot and ordered one of their pieces: The Trident D2
kz-trident-sat-d2-kizlyar-supreme-trident-satin-blade-d2-steel_0.jpg



"Presently, the firm of IE Kizlyar Ltd. has the responsibility of upholding the traditions and crafts of those by-gone days by continuing the ancient trade of weapon manufacturing, whether its the production of traditional Cossack sashka (sabre), kinjhal (dagger) or finely crafted hunting and decoration knives forged in Damascus steel, adorned with precious stones and metals.In 1992, IE Kizlyar Ltd. (previously known as «Energoremont») produced it’s first run of knives for special orders. Upon completion, the knives were of such high quality that many more orders were soon to follow, and thus the excellent reputation of Kizlyar Knives was forged.April 1995 was to be a milestone in the companies history, being the first company in Dagestan to receive a licence for permission to manufacture hunting and military knives. Under Russian law, these items are classed as «cold weapons» and therefore, authorisation is required to legitimately produce them. This brought about the conception of the first, highly popular knife models - Scorpion, Taiga and Berkut. These found favour almost immediately with Special Forces and Police due to their aggressive design, nature and ultimate reliability."

Today I also learned that they are somewhat related to Cold Steel. I hope CS will not ruin the company mission.
 
I will have to check them out for the shaska and kinjhals. The newer stuff doesn't really interest me as much but if they are making reasonable versions of historic Russian weapons I definately am interested.
 
agree with shavru on this one, the modern knives just dont have the "culture" of the old ones, or old styles from local areas-- if buying I want to buy something like HI does-- but sadly, only HI has its own kami , and those "old ways" being used in fair trade right now, I have mentioned that HI is right alongside the big antiques dealers listed on the viking ethnographic sword forum because of the work they do. also kinda embarrassed to try and post any new pictures, I am pretty sure I have spent my nephew's college fund on swords.
 
I've read about that brand on the forums, but they seemed waaaay out of my price range. I didn't know they made traditional stuff. I'd love to get a shaska one of these days.

So I bought another Takouba! In much better condition than my last one.
View attachment 429993View attachment 429994
It's probably no older than I am, but I like the way it looks. It's got moon guys on it too.


View attachment 429996

It'll be a few weeks before it arrives. I paid much less for this one than my other one.
 
Kids in Victorian era were treated like miniature adults this was probably a noble child's dress accessory. They were usually only allowed one toy that is the point behind boxing day. The last years toy was boxed up and given along with money and food gifts to a person who didn't have anything when the new toy was given at Christmas. Looks like some awesome new blades. definately time to expand "THE" wall.
 
Last edited:
Interesting, I never knew that about boxing day.

I wonder how old that child's rapier is. It doesn't look very old to me. Yet you'd think if it was a boy's "dress" sword, he would wear one in the same style his father wore. The rapier went out of style a very long time ago being replaced by the smallsword.
 
intereting. I guess there are a few possibilities. it could be a reproduction. Or it could be that since it was a childs as the child outgrew it someone packed it up and so it didnt see a lot of wear and tear and depending on how it was packed might look in better shape than an adults that was in pretty regular useage?
 
What's throwing off me is that cast bronze hilt. That makes me think it's only about 100 years old, around 100 years after people stopped carrying rapiers. I believe this specific style of small Spanish rapier is called a Bilbo (apparently the namesake of Bilbo Baggins). You can see what a real one looks like in this thread along with a modern Windlass replica. The blade on mine is only 22 inches long so it's about a foot shorter than a real Bilbo.

So since it's modern and too small to even pass for the real thing, it's either a child's costume piece or a perhaps a decorative piece? The blade itself looks pretty dang old though. It looks like it's only beveled on one side, and not very well shaped.
View attachment 430272View attachment 430273

This page has some more pictures of a real Bilbo from around 1800.
 
Last edited:
Hmm, just got a package from Uzbekistan. That doesn't happen every day...

View attachment 430353

It's a pichok! I totally forgot I ordered it. This thing is HEAVY. Most of the weight is in the hilt, too. It's pointy and super sharp and fullered on one side. I have no idea what it's made of but my guess is the usual spring steel. Hilt is deer antler. I tested with a magnet and it appears the tang goes all the way to the hilt. It's brand new obviously.

View attachment 430354

The blade's quite thick, I'd say 1/4" at the hilt. The distal taper is a bit uneven, but still nicely done. Here it is next to a KLVUK. Pic came out blurry but you get the idea.

View attachment 430355

The sheath is crap. It's just a piece of vinyl. The tip's already broken through. Here's a little article about Uzbek knives and their history.

Overall I like it, but I have no idea why they made it so hilt heavy. The point of balance is like a half inch behind the blade. Can anybody explain to me what advantage there'd be to having so much weight in the hilt? It seems like you're carrying a lot of extra weight around for no benefit. If the weight's in the blade at least you can chop better...
 
I love the looks of it, beautiful knife. Probably never considered it a chopper so they weren't concerned about forwards weight?

Never heard of Uzbekistan, new one on me. Maybe the antler handle along with the full tang threw off their geometry a bit.
Still pretty, I don't care who you are, you gotta love it.
 
Thanks! I think this kind of knife is common to many Central Asian "-istan" countries. According to the article it's part of their traditional dress plus a general utility knife. It looks like they come in all shapes and sizes. Maybe you're right about the blade smith not compensating for the weight of the deer horn. I'm tempted to buy another one. They sell a similar model with a curved tip (for skinning animals) and a saiga horn handle. Saiga is apparently a kind of antelope that lives out there. I wonder if horn is lighter than antler...

I just realized the blade's hollow ground on both sides. I put a pair of scissors across it so you can see the curve of the blade.

View attachment 430378

The folks who made this thing put a lot of effort into forging it.

Here's another article about how they're made with lots of pictures. It looks like they make them from car valves? Or at least that guy does. Interesting.
 
Last edited:
Very interesting. I was going to ask about the "flats" they looked hollow. With the thickness then the large bevel to the edge that is a really strange profile. Very nice looking knife though. As for the weight. Since it patently is not a chopper I don't think there was any concern given to the balance at all. It is probably much more important to be cosmetically correct if it is part of their traditional dress.
 
It is a strange profile, almost like a saber. It cuts like a razor, though. One benefit of the heavy hilt is that you can easily do fine work with base of the blade much easier than you could with a tip heavy or evenly balanced knife. I made feathersticks with it no problem. Maybe that's why they put all the weight in the base, so you could use it for detailed work as well as stuff like "large knife" stuff like slicing up meat or self defense. Chopping wood probably never came into the equation. Or maybe you're right about them not caring about balance. But usually dress knives/swords are lighter than the functional version, not heavier. Plus somebody put a lot of efford into tapering and hollowing this blade, which you wouldn't expect for a dress piece.

Personally I'd rather carry one long knife and one short knife than a single long heavy "do it all" knife that weighs more than both combined. Or a long heavy knife that can chop and a small knife for fine work like a khukri/karda combo. That being said, I liked this one enough that I bought the curved tip version. I like the profile better and it'll be cool to have a saiga horn hilted knife. It's only about $60 after shipping, and that's a damn good deal for a hand made blade of this quality/size/weight. Plus I have no impulse control.

View attachment 430603
 
Hehe, Impulse control? That is where you actually know you can say "No" to an impulse buy? I have heard of it, but never seen it in person.

Can you tell how much of the weight is from that Bolster/ Pommel? The Pommel if it is solid would be a heavy chunk itself not to mention the tang. Either way another great "Great Wall" addition. You should get a world map and figure out how to mark each blade with it's origin on the map. You have to start focusing on native blades from the other countries/regions you don't have yet and that would help. LOL.
 
I do wonder how much weight is added from the metal furniture. I can't tell how thick they are or what they're made of. A magnet sticks to them but that could be from the tang underneath. The more I use it the more I understand why they made the point of balance in the hilt. It really makes it a nimble knife. You can do all sorts of stuff you wouldn't expect to do with such a long blade. The distal taper, the fuller, and the hollow ground sides make the blade almost weightless compared to the hilt, so you can manouver it as you please. Still, I'd rather take the weight of this knife and put it into a forward balanced khukri/parang/golok/barong and carry a secondary small knife like a mora. A woodsman would be set with a combo like that. But he'd need to carry a hatchet or tomahawk alongside this Uzbek knife to have a complete toolkit, which of course adds even more weight.

A map is a great idea. I think I have every continent covered at least. I'm really lacking in East Asian knives, but Chinese/Korean/Japanese stuff is just too expensive if you want the real deal. I'm thinking of eventually getting one of these Japanese bushcrafting knives. I like the scabbard.
bepal1008.jpg
 
Kanetsune knives are really nice. So far I have only been looking check your pms for the details. The one I am working on getting is the Kagayaki style seen here.


or the Sazanami here:


I really love the style but you are right, the price is WAY up there for a field knife. Still beautiful little things. Interested to know what you have found out about them. Of course if you REALLY want to go broke, The Hana version is a great way to do it.

 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top