yataghan and dhal

[TVV]

Originally Posted by Battara

I was looking at the yataghan. It may be older, but with a replaced forte on it. Don't know of many repo yataghans yet .

However, the stamp on the blade does bother me.

I personally cannot say for sure if this particular yataghan is repro or not just because of a strange marking on its blade, but there are plenty of repro yataghans, I have seen them by the douzens in Sofia. I even think we had a topic discussing one such piece here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=yataghan
There are master bladesmiths in every country, including Eastern Europe. The difference is in the demand (and consequently pricing) of well made historical replicas here and there. It is not wise to go into details about what distinguishes originals from misrepresented replicas, as it helps fakers improve (and the ones I know of are pretty good anyway), but I just wanted to warn you that nowadays yataghans and kindjals are far from fakeproof.

[Aqtai]

I know that real dhals, in order to be used, would have a lining on the back and a square "cushion" in the centre as well as handles/straps. I'm not sure how they were attached though, presumably they were glued in place.

Are there any traces of glue there?

Interior of an 18th century Indian dhal in the Royal Armouries, Leeds:

[Miyamoto]

and here is another "pearl" from the same seller (yataghan): Ebay auction number 6572889428.