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Post by randomnobody on Jan 21, 2015 1:09:37 GMT
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Luka
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Post by Luka on Jan 21, 2015 19:40:57 GMT
Nice handle decoration!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 0:05:56 GMT
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 22, 2015 2:07:17 GMT
I keep looking at that one, but the blade shape is just wrong. I've seen dozens of these things and not one of them has ever had that drastic upsweep into the tip. It looks so fragile, way too narrow in that part. I feel like it would have been better off if the spine had stayed straight, or like most historic examples I've seen, curved ever-so-slightly inward, toward the edge, even if it sacrificed some blade length.
That grip, as has been mentioned already, really does look fat, too...
Otherwise, that's a pretty good price.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 2:25:09 GMT
Ya but a step up from the Deepeeka imo. Ebay has had a few originals that linger but rarely with scabbards at a good price. A couple of years ago they seemed more common.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 22, 2015 2:54:34 GMT
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 24, 2015 20:45:31 GMT
Got my "new" one in today. Came in a fairly large box that confused me when I picked it up as it weighed next to nothing. had to do some surgery to get into it, then had to dig through a lot of packing paper before finally getting at the delicious bubble-wrapped center. Which weighed practically nothing. On that note, here's some specs: Overall length in sheath - 12.5"/31.5cm Overall length of knife alone - 11.75"/30cm Blade length - 7.5"/19cm Blade width at choil - 1.55"/4cm T-Spine thickness at grip - 0.35"/9mm Blade thickness - 0.14"/3mm Hilt length - 4"/10cm Pommel width - 1.7"/4.4cm Grip thickness - 0.8"/2cm Grip length - 3.3"/8.5cm Weight in sheath - 7.5oz/215g Weight of knife alone - 6.1oz/172g Some photos (Forgive my carpet backdrop): Whole kit "Outside" "Inside" Spine Edge In-hand (fits pretty well, if I may say) Decoration, including etched pattern on blade (presumably to mimic wootz, or maybe some kind of floral motif?) Family photo Overall impressions are "Damn, this thing's light." Oh, and it's pretty sharp, too. Seller said the (bone? horn?) scales were "slightly loose" and yes, they are, but only just slightly. Not an issue, can't even tell unless you purposely jiggle them. I'm wondering if I could have somebody tap down the rivets a bit to snug things up... I find it amusing how the edge appears to be swollen, I don't know if it shows in the photos, but the etched portion is not only thinner than the T-spine, it's thinner than the edge. What looks like a bevel is actually raised. Presumably, the flat portion was ground out this way, perhaps for the same function as a fuller? The two bigger ones flow from side straight into beveled edge, though, so that makes this one different. Ultimately, it's really small, by my personal standards...but I'm also six-foot-something or 190+ cm tall, so most things are a bit small for me. Doesn't change the fact that I like it better with the grip in my hand than with the blade in...any other part of me. With this one, I think I can probably wrap up this segment of my collection. I'm eying up one more on eBay that's between the size of this one and my bigger version, with a different hilt style, but apart from that I feel like the typical Afghan pesh kabz is now suitably represented within my personal collection. I need at least one more of the BIG "Khyber" and am eying a few of those, as well; mostly looking to represent grip materials and possibly even blade steels. Looking at a wootz one, wishing I could afford it, lamenting that it's a bit short... Anyway, just thought I'd bring this thread back for anybody who might be interested in these knives to hopefully get a pretty good idea of what's out there, what they go for, and what you get. Shame these are so underrepresented in the production market, they really are fantastic weapons...at least, I think they are.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 29, 2015 2:30:21 GMT
Okay, I confess, I've been perusing eBay again. I had to share this thing, which looks like it's going to go pretty high. Started at $0.99 a couple days ago, has over a week left, and is currently at $152.50. I admit, I like it, but it's not really in my current scope: www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-ARAB-ISLAMIC-PESH-DAGGER-INDO-PERSIAN-CHOORA-KHYBER-KNIFE-KARD-KATAR-/371244773324?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566fe9afcc#viTabs_0I'm curious to see how much it goes for if it's jumped up this high already. Lots of activity for something with so long to go still. Somebody must recognize it... There's this one, also, by the same seller: www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-KHYBER-KNIFE-PESH-DAGGER-INDO-PERSIAN-CHOORA-BRITISH-INDIAN-RAJ-ERA-/371246108190?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566ffe0e1eI'm less keen on this one but considering it's already got a few bids, having just listed today, I'm curious. Oh, and this popped up: www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Original-19th-Century-Salawar-Yatagan-Khyber-Knife-Charay-Circa-1850-/141557261243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f57863bbI feel like I've seen that one before...hmmm... ( kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=AH3452 )
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 15, 2015 21:00:41 GMT
So, if it's still the same year, is it threadromancy? Been watching the market steadily since the last post here, and today, against my better judgement (I'm so broke) I put in a couple of bids on this: www.ebay.com/itm/NICE-Old-Antique-Afghan-Khyber-Knife-Salawar-Yataghan-Sword-dagger-/121754585250?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=pybnOF5aqg0On89oduzjXUfVK%252F4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc...and won. I was willing to go up to $350+S&H, but am pleased to have stayed under $300 total. $300 I will certainly be wishing I hadn't spent, but hey, it's only money. Can't take it with you, right? Anyway, if there's interest, I'll post up measurements and stuff when I get it in hand, sometime in the next week or so.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 16, 2015 20:19:36 GMT
Word from the seller is my new Khyber has shipped, eBay confirms this and USPS says they have it and should be getting it to me by Friday.
Also, apparently I overpaid shipping, so the seller will be refunding me four dollars and some change, which is pretty cool of them, considering they didn't have to day anything at all and child have just pocketed the difference. Only four dollars, sure, but hey...that's $4.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 17, 2015 20:34:08 GMT
Ugh, the feeling when something is at the destination sorting facility, but not slated for delivery until tomorrow... It's a few miles down the road, just send somebody with it.
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Post by Bertek on Sept 17, 2015 20:54:08 GMT
That was a nice buy, especially with the scabbard. Looking forward to the measurements. Now that you have such a nice collection or regional blades you can move on to collection some dhal shields.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 17, 2015 21:18:00 GMT
A dhal or two is on my list. Obligatory katar, tulwar, and pulwar as well. Maybe a wootz kard... Eventually maybe a shamshir and kilij.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 18, 2015 17:59:37 GMT
...and now, that feeling when it's been delivered, but you're stuck at work until late at night. Seven hours to go...
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 19, 2015 2:36:33 GMT
My "new" Khyber was delivered while I was at work today. It was an agonizing shift knowing it was waiting for me, but I made it through, and have freed it from its cardboard prison and can now share with you all its splendor. Some quick-and-dirty cell phone camera photos: New family photo: With that out of the way, now for some measurements. Overall length in scabbard - 28"/71cm Overall length of sword - 25.25/64cm Length of blade - 19.75"/50cm Weight in scabbard - 1lb 12.9oz/818gg Weight of sword - 1lb 3.3oz/546g Width of T-section at grip - 0.41"/1cm, tapers evenly into tip Width of blade at guard - 1.92"/4.9cm Width at apex of taper into tip - 0.59"/1.5cm Thickness of blade - 0.11"/0.3cm with no taper to edge or throughout length Gripping area (between "guard" and pommel) - 3.75"/9.6cm Grip "height" - 0.92"/2.4cm Grip "width" - 1.1"/2.6cm PoB - approximately 4.75"/12cm I hope that gives everybody a good impression of this sword's general characteristics. As for my impressions, it's smaller than I'd figured, but I'm also a terrible judge of size until something is in my hand. It's just about two inches shorter than my other big Khyber, but feels much lighter in hand. Almost enough to seem a bit insubstantial to a guy my size. Handling is lively and quick, though, and the grip is in much better shape than the larger model. It's still very firm, no cracks, no creaks, and smooth. Very nicely polished, seller said bone, presumably camel, and I am inclined to agree. There is no roughness to the touch, but the grip is secure. I'm assuming the furniture is brass? I genuinely don't know. It's a bright "yellow" color, so likely not copper, quite unlikely to be bronze, and most definitely not gold. I'm not sure what the fabric is at the throat of the scabbard, but it's neatly wrapped and has a strong sheen. Whatever it is, it is of a fine weave. Taking notice of the tooling on one side of the scabbard, I've determined these must have been worn edge-up, like shashka or katana. My other example has lost most of its original covering, so I wasn't sure which way it was worn. I've only seen very few pictures online with anybody wearing one of these in which it was easy to see which orientation they used. This scabbard is very much complete and suggests edge-up was the way to go. I suppose this makes the most sense, given the "beak" pommel. Drawing is very easy, compared to the other model especially. That one had a slight bend in the blade when I got it, but I straightened it a bit and now the only issue is it's just a hair snug at the throat of the scabbard. Hard to tell when it's fully seated, so I tend to push it in a bit far. This one seats very smoothly. Anyway, hope somebody out there got something out of this. I'm certainly happy with my new toy. I mean, uh, historic artifact, for study. Oh, in case anybody might be wondering, the edge at present is not particularly sharp, but must have been at one point. There is a very slight roll in the tip. I have no doubt, however, that this sword would still cause significant damage in its current state. (Edit: Yikes, these pictures look awful at full-resolution; I really need to get a new phone, or a proper camera...)
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Post by Bertek on Sept 19, 2015 14:43:03 GMT
Your new Khyber looks pretty good (wishing I would have tried for it, I had it on my watch list, lol). Very interesting insight on how it most likely was carried and drawn, noticing little details like that is one of the things I enjoy most from collecting.
Also, thanks for taking down all the measurements and sharing them, it is always my irrational hope that contemporary manufactures will someday actually use this kind of data when they make their reproductions instead of just continuing to make sharp crowbars. I think when Windless made their copy it weighed twice the amount of the real deal..
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 19, 2015 14:59:18 GMT
I would love to see another manufacturer, apart from Windlass, take on these and all the other various blades of old "Indo-Persia" and the "Arab" world. It seems the few who have, have not done well, perhaps in part because the niche is so small, but also because those in said niche were so critical of every minor "miss" in the reproduction. Windlass' charay has been discussed in this very thread and is a classic example of a noble effort falling short of the mark, possibly due to the lack of a proper reference model. I'm still thinking of acquiring one from Windlass and perhaps one of the large Deepeeka models solely to put down side-by-side comparisons to my originals, so that maybe, if another manufacturer should be so bold, they would know what not to do. I just don't have the disposable income to purchase things I don't like, even if it's for research. I was watching another besides this one, a bit larger but with a straighter blade (the sloping spine is what really gets me on these) and a slightly worse-off scabbard, with a starting bid at $551. I thought that a bit high for my own impressions of the particular sword, but bear in mind I did pay more than that for my first Khyber, and it's certainly not in the best shape... I need to look into what I would have to do to import antiques with ivory parts. So many swords and knives from that part of the world use it, but it's such a taboo thing now, even when it's over 100 years old...
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Sept 19, 2015 15:01:33 GMT
An interesting collection you have going.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 19, 2015 15:10:57 GMT
Thanks. I'm captivated by these, if you couldn't tell.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Sept 19, 2015 21:35:54 GMT
Here are mine: I bought the top one new, in the late 1980s. Horn grip. Maker unknown. 745g, scabbard is 210g. The bare blade is old, with forging flaws, delaminations, cracks in the spine from being stood on by camels or similar. The blade isn't quite straight, but is straight enough to be usable if I put a grip on it. The rim around the tang is a separate piece, soldered(?) on. 670g. The bottom one is recently acquired, supposed to be late 19th century. Scabbard has strips of iron/steel around it, and tin chape and throat. Horn grip with nails/studs. 515g, scabbard is 252g. As can be seen from the weights, the modern one is heavy for its size. Not unusably so, but it does carry a lot of that extra weight around the tip. To compare the three, the thicknesses of the spines and blades (halfway between edge and spine) are, at the base of the blade, mid-blade, and near the tip are: | base | middle | near tip | Top spine | 10.4mm | 10.3mm | 9.0mm | Top blade | 3.8mm | 3.8mm | 3.0mm | Middle spine | 9.5mm | 9.5mm | 6.9mm | Middle blade | 3.7mm | 2.8mm | 3.1mm | Bottom spine | 8.9mm | 8.2mm | 5.4mm | Bottom blade | 2.8mm | 2.9mm | 2.7mm |
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