ID & Discussion: Afghan Folding Lohar (Banochie Tribe) — 2009 In-Country Bringback

[Oiluj13]

Hi everyone,I’m looking to get some thoughts, confirmation, and discussion on this piece. My brother acquired this in-country and brought it back directly from Afghanistan in 2009 during his deployment.Based on my initial research, it appears to be an Afghan Lohar (battle pick/war sickle) traditionally associated with the Banochie/Bannochi Pashtun tribe of the Khyber Pass region.Approximate Measurements:Blade Length: 6 inchesOverall Length (Handle to Top / Release Lever): About 14 inchesI have attached a series of photos showing its detailed features and unique mechanical configuration:The Blade & Macro Details: Features a severe, sickle-like downward curve. The flats of the steel are heavily decorated with intricate floral vine scrollwork panels, set against a stippled/punched background for contrast. Notably, the blade is completely unsharpened, which leads me to believe this specific piece was likely intended as a traditional status symbol, dress item, or regional trade piece rather than a functional weapon.Inlays & Spine Notches: Interestingly, there are small copper/brass plugs or pins inlaid directly into the steel flats on both sides of the blade (at least five total across both faces). Furthermore, there are distinct, deep notch marks filed into the back spine of the blade right where it meets the hilt frame.The Spine Construction: The steel spine features a deeply chiseled pattern running all the way down into the handle recess. The pattern changes style at the main joint, shifting from an intertwined running wave/vine motif on the lower section to a distinct leaf-and-tendril scroll on the upper frame section. The locking latch at the end carries matching scrollwork details.Blade Spine Macro Detail: Looking closely at the spine edge of the blade itself, it features an engraved running-wave pattern flanked by stylized geometric terminals. The edges of the spine are hand-filed with decorative notches. Visible tool marks and slight irregularities along the spine confirm it was hand-finished.The Folding Mechanism: This is a multi-folding variant. Not only does the blade fold down into the brass-clad section of the haft, but the bone-and-horn handle section also folds down at a secondary pivot joint. It collapses into an incredibly compact, pocket-sized package.Given the 2009 provenance, it provides a great tangible reference point for what was physically present in the region during that era. I know these have been widely discussed on the forum regarding their historical use as status symbols versus functional weapons.I would love to get the community's perspective on a few specific points:Age & Origin: Is this an antique late-19th or early-20th-century tribal piece that survived in the region, or does the workmanship point to a mid-to-late 20th-century bazaar production made for regional trade?The Inlays & Notches: Do these copper/brass blade dots and spine notches signify a specific regional workshop, maker's mark, or protective talismanic meaning?The Handle Joint: How common is this specific three-part folding mechanism where the grip itself folds, compared to the rigid-handled or single-folding Lohars?Any insights, catalog references, or corrections on the regional attribution would be greatly appreciated!Thanks,Oiluj13

[Tim Simmons]

I believe along with other exotic shaped implements, picks axes and adze are for chipping sugar or salt lumps. Your one is very fancy.

[RobT]

Oiluj13,

The rivets on the hilt and on the shaft of your lohar appear to be aluminum. How to make aluminum in quantity was discovered in 1886 (the Hall-Héroult process). Therefore, if your lohar has aluminum rivets, it was almost certainly made in the 20th century. A post WWII date, when aluminum became common worldwide, is most likely.
I have a folding lohar (not as fancy as yours) that has aluminum rivets and I have always thought it was made post WWII. Come to think of it, of the few folding lohar I have seen, I can’t recall ever having seen one that didn’t have aluminum rivets. I have read that there are non folding lohar (never saw one though) and I wonder if they aren’t the original and older version.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Patterson25]

Hi,

I'm not sure these are rivets. They look more like metal inclusions, possibly aluminium or tin. These inclusions may have been added later. I can also see copper inclusions on the blade.

There are jambiya daggers with aluminium hilts dating from the late 19th century to around 1900. I think your lohar probably dates from around 1914 to 1950.

[Tim Simmons]

In the same line.

https://www.horniman.ac.uk/object/25.9.57/1

[Ian]

Hi Oiluj13,

As you mentioned, there was quite a lot of discussion in the past about these objects. Various ideas have been proposed about the Lohar Axe and its purpose. No clear consensus, or really any evidence, has emerged regarding function. I think we can say that the non-folding version preceded the folding one, but there is no evidence to my knowledge that the older form was produced before the last half of the 19th C, with the folding form appearing around 1900 or a bit earlier. There has been a suggestion that the folding form was based on a French design of a folding knife.

Absent a defined function for these items within the local culture, it is tempting to label them as "decorative." This is perhaps especially true of the folding forms, which may well have been made for sale to those who travel (like your brother). British travelers of the late 19th/early 20th C liked these exotic-looking items.

The materials in your brother's example and the non-traditional designs on the blade suggest fairly recent manufacture, perhaps following the Russian invasion in 1979, aimed at sales to foreigners. The later U.S. incursion would have provided another market for them.

These items are not ranked highly among collectible ethnographic weapons and are usually inexpensive by today's standards. Some of the decorative features may be traditional local designs, and therefore works of some local relevance, but so far nobody has identified them as such.

There is more work to be done in defining what role, if any, these axes may have had in the local culture.

Regards, Ian.

[RobT]

Patterson 25,

Here is a picture of mine. I examined the rivets and two important points jumped out. 1) All the non steel rivets that are visible on the inside of the liners are riveted through. It would have been very difficult (if not impossible) to have inserted them as aftermarket additions. Given this, it is logical to assume that the non visible ones are riveted through as well and it would have been absolutely impossible to have added them after initial construction. 2) The non steel rivets on my example are definitely aluminum.
It is interesting to note that the hilts on both examples posted so far are shaped very much like some choora hilts and also like some folding knife hilts that bear supposed British manufacture marks on their blades (see photo attached).

Sincerely,
RobT

[Lee]

Here are three more: On the left, a "fixed" example with no pivot joints; the blade is flat and without decoration on the opposite side. In the middle, the blade may be retracted against the neck. On the right an example with two pivot joints. I have always regarded the two on the right as being of the second half of the 20th century. The one on the left might be a bit earlier, but I suspect the "white" metal of the decoration to be aluminum.