You may know them as Omani Saifs but they will always be Kattara to me

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Michael Blalock

Ibrahiim, I am all for using the correct nomenclature, hence the title of my post which was meant to be a humorous play on a line from the American television show Seinfeld. A character, Peterman, says "You may know it as Myanmar but it will always be Burma to me" I thought it would be a funny twist on the concept of western romanticism of the east. Maybe there are not a lot of Seinfeld fans out there who would have seen the connection.

Salaams Michael Blalock ... Sorry I missed the pun... Seinfeld? ha! What happenend to the input you were going to have a look at on the Algerian gun mark at Kattara for comments? It would be most helpful please and would tidy that detail up. I like the use of the word cousin in sword terminology thanks for that ..
Of course you also need to observe that your pictures of swords in Saudia and Yemen (souk and museum) shots were very inspiring in the research and outcome (so far) of this fascinating subject.
I think we are all generally on the same page on this though there is still much work to do and there will always be those out there who need to be convinced that bananas are curved and carrots are straight even though the odd exceptional blue or spotty variant with the contrary bend appears; they are generally, like the sword, considered curiosities or as we say Hybrids.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.