Sudan arm dagger restore or not?

[Marc M.]

Greetings

I just bought a Sudanese arm dagger in a good condition exept for the handle,
and the arm loop is missing.
Top part is ivory and is missing a piece of the cilindrical part, the ivory piece at the top was broken in two pieces and was poorly glued and i glued the pieces again. Question: leave it as it is or restore it.I don't think the dagger is worth the restauration cost by a proffesional restorer, so probably a diy job. The ivory bird can be used for the missing part.
There is a text on the blade, a translation is always welcome.

Best regards
Marc

[RobT]

Hi Marc M,

In the first blade close-up, I think the first four characters are a date. The first three digits appear to be 198. I think the last digit may be a 3. I don't know what the rest of the characters are.

Sincerely,
RobT

[kahnjar1]

If you have the skill, I would definitely say restore the handle, especially since you have some ivory to do it.
Stu

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

If you have the skill, I would definitely say restore the handle, especially since you have some ivory to do it.
Stu

Hi Stu

Thanks for your reaction, i've never restored ivory before but i am not too clumsy, so i give it a try.

Best Regards
Marc

[Richard G]

I think they are all numerals 1983/3/16

Regards
Richard

[Kmaddock]

Hi
What's the plan as I cant see how the piece of ivory will be big enough for the job at hand
I found a hand fret saw is very good at cutting ivory with minimal wastage.
Regards
Ken

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by Richard G

I think they are all numerals 1983/3/16

Regards
Richard

Hi Richard

Thanks for the translation of the date, it could of course mean anything.

Best regards
Marc

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi Marc M,

In the first blade close-up, I think the first four characters are a date. The first three digits appear to be 198. I think the last digit may be a 3. I don't know what the rest of the characters are.

Sincerely,
RobT

Hi Rob

Thank you for the translation.

Sincerely
Marc