Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


1119 - Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria

The single edged blade arises from an integral bolster and measures 5¾ inches (14.8 cm) in length. The flat spine of the blade tapers down from a 0.25 inch (0.64 cm) thickness just beyond the bolster to a tip possibly showing some reshaping repair from the working life of this knife. The spine and bolster include simple linear and cross-hatched decoration. An inscription is present upon the forte of both sides of the blade and includes '1930' (likely a date, compare with #4); a pair of lines run nearly the full length on one side of the blade and both sides of the blade show evidence of losses to multiple honings. The tapering wooden hilt is wound with fine wire - alternating brass and silver-colored nearest the bolster with a transition area where the silver-colored wire becomes twisted before copper wire begins. Some unraveling appears to have occurred in the transition area with the twisted wire. There is linear and dot-within-circle decoration on the wooden facets of the hilt and a brass tang washer at the end. The knife is accompanied by its leather covered wooden sheath. The leather surrounding the mouth is tan-brown while a dark red-brown coloration has been applied to the body of the sheath along with some copper wire reinforcements. There are losses of the wood from the tip, but the sheath still fully contains the tip. The knife alone measures 10 inches (25.4 cm) overall with a weight of 3.6 ounces (102 grams) while the length with the knife inserted into the sheath is 10½ inches (26.5 cm) and the weight of all is 4¾ ounces (136 grams).


Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria

Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria

Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria

Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria

Khodmi or Bou Saadi Knife from Southern Algeria



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