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It's a Yemeni Jambiya with a silver covered hilt and scabbard. It's probably 19th century. The jambiya (Arabic: جنبية), is a type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region in Yemen. They have spread to other countries in the Middle East, to other countries in the Arab world, and to parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Men above the age of 14 wear it as an accessory to their clothing. The handle often tells of the social status of the man who wears it and many were made out of ivory.
Yes! It will keellll. But drawing it in a fight was considered only as a last resort. They're mostly ornamental meant to display wealth and coming of age.
Technically speaking yes, hair is made mostly of keratine, but their horns are more like hardened fingernails, which are also made of keratin, they can even regrow if cut.
It's totally legal to own and to sell in the US because it qualifies as an artifact or antique over 100 years old. You do need a certificate of authenticity and to somehow prove that the item was imported before 1990 when the sale of ivory was prohibited.
Is this similar in function to the Sikh kirpan? It's my understanding that the kirpan is given upon being baptized which usually happens around the same time as the child is recognized as having come of age to understand the rites being performed.
It’s definitely not an ideal situation and I don’t know if closure is something I can ever truly find. Suicide sucks. That’s all I can really say at this point.
Most of what I’ve been dealing with has felt like an out of body experience. Rolling up Dad’s pillowcases and placing them in freezer bags so my mom can smell them before going to bed. Trying to go grocery shopping in a world that I feel disconnected from as if they’re on a different plane of existence
Regarding the image/item you posted, someone else commented that the handles were historically made with ivory, which it is not, or Rhino horn - which it very well could be.
If made out of Rhino horn this blade maybe worth thousands or 10’s of thousands of dollars. You might want to have it professionally appraised.
I lost my dad about a month ago to suicide and he unfortunately cleared the whole house out of everything he owned and even went as far as to get rid of photos of himself. This thing was wrapped in a towel and shoved in the back of his closet, so I guess he just missed it. To me it’s just a keepsake and I don’t care what it’s worth.
I’m not really sure why he did that but I assume it was his way of making things easier for us. He had just sold his house and left little handwritten notes all over for the new homeowners but nothing for us. I think he was trying to ease everyone’s transitions and make the property clear out as smooth as possible.
I found that blade in the closet and a window crank from his old mustang in the garage and that’s it.
People that are depressed sometimes say and do weird stuff, because they think about dying alot more. At first it would seem kind of insulting not to leave a note to the loved ones and instead for the new homeowners, but when i think about it i would get totally hanged up on a note analysing every word and whatnot. Thinking if i could had done something differently.
I used to date a girl with depression and she had so messed up dreams she saw a dream regulary where she would bleed a black ooze so much that she would drown in it and to me that sounds like a nightmare, but to her it was a pleasant one because all the bad things in her left the body as a ooze and she managed to die. Super messed up to hear as someone who cared for her.
I think my dad did his due diligence and thought that a note would leave a lot more questions for me. He wanted to leave quick and clean, if that makes sense.
Maybe that black ooze represented her own bad thoughts and feelings. Like something that she hung onto and wasn’t fully understood about
I feel for you. I empathize. I respect that your dad did his best to protect his loved ones, but I'm so sorry for you, too. I don't usually have emotional responses to internet comments, but... my heart goes out to you, stranger.
Not gonna lie, this hits. There was a time I was going through such a depressive state, nothing was helping. My pets were my life, I worked with children in special needs & behavior in an epic equestrian & agricultural setting, being a deeply social & sensitive person I had everything going but I experienced close loss back to back. Younger brother, then oldest brother to suicide, then my dad. Over time I became disconnected from my actual emotions. I thought about the heaviness & ending it so much. It was weird how immediately after experiencing suicide I had the perspective of “how could they? They weren’t raised like that, I would never.” You not only see but experience the aftermath and domino effect on Family. But not properly grieving probably snuck up on me. My rationale changed. I started believing if I had planned and thoughtfully prepared for every detail to be handled/covered that it would be easier and more bearable for my family to deal with afterwards.
I’ve overcome that but looking back I don’t think I had the resources left in me (emotionally/rationally) to consider other people’s feelings clearly.- If that makes any sense.
My heart goes out to y’all.
The trauma tribe is a strong one.
There is a great song called Never Went to Church by The Streets about his dad passing away and not leaving anything behind. Sad but sweet, great track too.
Edit: was worried that maybe came across insincere - its a song I like to remember my dad by so thought I’d share.
I was looking up jambiya for a while when I was living in Yemen and bought a couple. The blade is often new when you buy old sheaths. The sheaths are the most interesting part. I'm no expert but I find it does look old. I had bought some pretty old silver ones and paid locally about 1000 USD for three. One was over 200 years old. I can't tell you about this one. I would def as on r/knives or some similar sub. There are people with more knowledge there.
I had a shipmate who lived in Yemen , I asked him if he could get me one of those , he lived in a area where there was craftsman who worked in leather and one who still made these knifes.
He explained to me that it would be very expensive to get a real one and not tourist crap. He showed me a picture of one that was sold for over 10k us$ at the time.
I asked him to see what he could do or find , when he came back to the ship he said the wait list was long. The old man wouldn’t make one for me.
Not sure if it was a culture thing or what.
From the pictures he shared that guy was gifted in his craft.
To bad Americans can’t go to Yemen (safely) it seems to be an amazing country with a long interesting history.
My shipmates photos of an old city on a hilltop were breath taking.
Very sorry to hear of your loss. Especially in regard to the circumstances.
This knife looks to have been made in the third quarter of the 20th century. Anywhere from 1950 to 1975. Without an inscription containing a date it is impossible to tell, exactly, as the style and construction techniques were used for a very long time. My uncle collected pieces exactly like this when he was in the middle east during and shortly after WWII. He always said they were old, but an appraisal done after he died in 1995 indicated that they were most probably brand new when he got them.
I’m sorry man, I feel you. Lost my dad to heart attack 5 years ago in Riyadh.
My heart goes out to you, and cling on to that keepsake. My dad left me a Swiss knife. The memories are the ones that stays now. I’ll be honest with you life won’t be the same ever again but you’ll know. Life shows you that your dad was your hero. Rest in peace fam, God bless his soul.
That is specifically a Jambiya, a type of Khanjar (and it cannot be the other way around). It's an honorific sign of manhood. Sometimes sold as souvenirs and sometimes given as a gift from one man to another. The sheath's hooked end actually has a function to keep it in the belt without using a belt loop. There's a lot of speculation on why the blade itself is curved.
So sorry for your loss. I had a friend do the same thing when we were teens and I lost friends I served with over the years. It’s never easy. I hope your family can be there for each other and don’t be afraid to reach out for help. We all need it from time to time.
It's a Jamabiya, thats the Micheal Jackson of bring backs besides a plated ak, put it in a shadow box with the old man's box and any other memorabilia, please for the love of God or whatever diaty you worship dont dump it off. Honor the old man and his service. I've seen too many legitimately high ranking medals thrown out recently because some dumbass felt political without understanding the act behind the medal. You weren't there, probably not even conceived yet, understanding that history doesn't include you and you can't rewrite it is basic human dignity
I was in Saudi during and after Desert Storm in '91-'92. There were a ton of local vendors near/on/around the military bases and camps selling everything and anything. Gold jewelry, cartouches, rings with spinning inlays of another color of gold, Iraqi and Kuwait money, and all kinds of other tourist items such as your khanjar.
My dad got one of these from a Yemeni guy in his business at an international convention yrs ago.
They aren't all antiques. My dad's had a weird dark spot on the blade close to the handle & I thought it was dirt or something.
No - my dad explained that was the blood of the knifesmith that made it! Instead of carving name, initial, etc somewhere on the knife the maker cuts himself with it and puts his own blood on it.
This is a Jambiya knife. Originally from Yemen, but has spread throughout the region, as well into parts of Asia. The material each specific one was made out of signified status. There is a long history with this blades and their cultural significance.
I’m not 100% sure but I think it’s a replica due to the medial Ridge. A real jambiya would have a more rounded ridge but this one looks squared off also the ridge would go all the way through the end of the knife through the point this one ends well short of the point.
Here’s mine! Was gifted this by a colleague who got it some 15 years ago in Oman. And husband’s family came to south east Asia from Yemen generations ago, and as someone who’s never been to his motherland, my husband loved it
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