Tribal dagger - any idea of origin, age , background?

[louix]

This dagger was picked up many decades ago on an overseas trip through the middle-east by my parents (afghanistan?) (see photo's). I'm not sure of its precise origin however it looks tribal and I'm curious about an apparent star of david near the hilt (could be just a co-incidental tribal motif). The blade itself is old, there has been some more recent attempts to create a new handle and brass fittings. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on age and origins of the dagger?

[Norman McCormick]

Hi,
This dagger has been made out of a cut down, probably, British officers infantry sword. The 'Star of David' is in actual fact two triangles meant to represent strength re the swordsmithing process. Difficult to give you a time scale but at a guess late 19thC to early 20thC. The pattern down the blade is a further clue to the lineage of the dagger as most British Officers swords had some sort of decoration on the upper part of the blade.
Regards,
Norman.

[Jim McDougall]

As well noted, this example does seem to be a locally made dagger using blade from a British military sword sometime early in 20th c. The 'Machin Khana' shops in Kabul made various weapons for the native forces augmenting the British forces from 1890s onward. While the emphasis was on Enfield rifles,
there were numbers of edged weapons made for the para-military units serving to police tribal areas in Khyber Agency regions.

These military sabers were produced with European style hilt and often used tribal blades from 'Khyber knives' (silliwar). The styling of the hilt on this dagger is compellingly similar.

In Afghanistan, there has been a cottage industry of producing arms using repurposed components of British arms, and these weapons have a unique intrigue in my view. Nice example!

Welcome to the forum !!!

All best regards
Jim