Kurdish? Dagger

[Emanuel]

Robert, this does indeed look like a tourist piece. It's too flashy. A genuine Khedama -Arabic word for knife, employed by Algerian Kabyles- would simply be made in wood, carved and wrapped in leather perhaps. The gold/brass stuff looks like imitation and useless. As for the engraving/writing, I don't know what it says, but I think it is too large and crude. Most blades I've seen feature smaller, more delicate work, if at all.

I think that as a rule, no matter what country you're in, old traditional edged weapons for sale are never flashy or covered in precious metals/stones. A simple functional scabbard and hilt would be the norm, with emphasys on the quality of the blade. The trully princely ones are already in museums and private collections.

Manolo