Khopesh by Chris Palmer

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Wolf_1989

Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
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The first time I saw a khopesh was in 1985 in a museum exhibit. I had never seen one before and I stared at that thing for a good 20 minutes before moving on to the other displays.

I had been searching for one ever since. I found some questionable ones (Deepeeka), incredibly historically accurate ones (Neil Burridge in the UK), but not quite what I was looking for.

Until a few months ago, when I found Chris Palmer's website...

MyKhopesh2.jpg


What it lacks in pure historical accuracy (the overall form & function is accurate, but it's made of a good modern steel instead of bronze) it more than compensates with durability. This thing is tough, and without being a heavy hulking monster. The balance is pretty good. And once I hand convexed the edge bevels to a literal razor edge, it cuts like the dickens.

The purists probably won't dig it, as the ancient Egyptians didn't use 5150 steel or osage orange wood for handle material, but if you want a usable tough-as-nails modernized version of the khopesh, this is about as good as it gets.

Zombies beware.

Overall length: 22.5"
Blade length: 16.75"
Blade thickness: 3/16"
Weight: 30 oz

I know it seems small, but this is about the average size of historical khopesh swords. Swords tended to be a bit on the small size back then.

http://traditionalarcherybows.com
 
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Oh baby! :eek: I've always loved the look of kopesh...es(?). Might I ask what one would set ya back? Also, any chance of a straight overhead/profile shot?
 
Wow, that's a good price for a blade that size... and thanks for the extra pic, Wolf! :thumbup: If my finances improve, I'm going to have to try and seek one out myself!
 
C.S. Graves said:
Wow, that's a good price for a blade that size... and thanks for the extra pic, Wolf! :thumbup: If my finances improve, I'm going to have to try and seek one out myself!
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll regret it. Yeah the price is great, considering it is made in USA, and well-made at that, I think it's a really good deal.

If you can't tell from the pics, this khopesh is full tang with the handle scales attached using hidden pins and epoxy.
 
Very cool and great price! Did not know these where Chris Palmers's which I saw over on kult of athena...neat stuff he does:thumbup:
 
I noticed on his URL he has another style of khopesh now and refers to the one I have as a "more modern" version. I can't help but think he misinterpreted something I wrote to him on email.

When I received my Scorpion Khopesh, I sent him an email praising it, calling it:

...the nicest modern interpretation of the originals I've ever seen...
Click to expand...
and
Thanks so much for making a usable modern khopesh!
Click to expand...

By "modern" all I mean is it's made of good modern 5160 steel with a hilt made of osage wood attached with hidden pins and epoxy.

The originals (the really old originals) were copper, then bronze later. They didn't have steel, let alone 5160, back then. I'd imagine if they did they'd certainly have used it though! They also didn't have osage orange for handle material. They did have adhesives back then but nothing like the ones we have today.

That's all that makes it a "modern interpretation" in my opinion.

Now some extra info for those of you who haven't researched much about ancient Sickle Swords...

In overall size, form, and function, Mr. Palmer got it right. The Khopesh typically tended to be a bit small. The average length seemed to have been about 60cm (a hair over 23.5"). There were longer ones. There were also many which were smaller. There were also many forms - many of which, the classic khopesh, look virtually identical to mine, while others looked almost like they were from a sci-fi film.
Some had hooks at the blade's tip. Many instead had a raised 'bump', and others had neither. A khopesh typically had a thick blade with complex and deep fullers and engravings and precious metal inlays... but many did not and were actually quite plain.

If I were to take this khopesh back in time to ancient Egypt, they'd certainly recognize it as a khopesh, but they would be astounded by the superior blade material and (to them) amazing lightness of weight.


Did I mention I love this thing? :cool:
 
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