Turkish (?) Bichaq (?)

ariel · 28th February 2005, 06:02 PM

Agree 100%: this is a typical Uzbeki Pichok ( in Turkish, it would be pronounced Bichaq). Most of the really old pieces (before ~1920) were destroyed or confiscated by the Russian authorities and up until the break of the USSR, possession and (horror!) manufacture of knives was a criminal offence. One could buy a hunting knife in a store but each knife was numbered and had to be registered with local "militia" (police); without police written certificate the store would not release the knife (rather stupid, because kitchen knives were freely sold and they were just as big and sharp).
Well, after gaining their independence, the Central Asians started making their traditional weapons like crazy. Thus, your guess of the age is unquestionably correct. Most of the knives are of bazaar quality, but some are very good. Yours is the best I've seen; the blade sounds to be superb and even the scabbard is made of real leather (some plastic atrocity is usually used instead).
Good hunting!

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28th February 2005, 06:02 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Agree 100%: this is a typical Uzbeki Pichok ( in Turkish, it would be pronounced Bichaq). Most of the really old pieces (before ~1920) were destroyed or confiscated by the Russian authorities and up until the break of the USSR, possession and (horror!) manufacture of knives was a criminal offence. One could buy a hunting knife in a store but each knife was numbered and had to be registered with local "militia" (police); without police written certificate the store would not release the knife (rather stupid, because kitchen knives were freely sold and they were just as big and sharp). Well, after gaining their independence, the Central Asians started making their traditional weapons like crazy. Thus, your guess of the age is unquestionably correct. Most of the knives are of bazaar quality, but some are very good. Yours is the best I've seen; the blade sounds to be superb and even the scabbard is made of real leather (some plastic atrocity is usually used instead). Good hunting!