Arabian sword, new or old? opinions please

[tom hyle]

M Carter, is there white adhesive on yours? Sure looks the same.
Saudi Arabia is probably the most betouristed country on Earth, certainly one of them, due to the hadj.

[Battara]

I agree. The hilt and scabbard look old. The scabbard and metal on the hilt are silver - sunshine cloth from a jewelery store can take the tarnish off. The hilt also looks like bone. The blade - different story - not sure.

[derek]

Originally Posted by tom hyle

M Carter, is there white adhesive on yours? Sure looks the same.
Saudi Arabia is probably the most betouristed country on Earth, certainly one of them, due to the hadj.

Good point, Tom! Carter is speaking from experience about exporting though, I'm sure. I found that things move in and out of Dubai without too much trouble, as long as you use courier or freight container (This may have changed recently). If you use Dubai Post its all over. They won't allow anything to leave, and to receive a blade took an act of God (almost, I worked for a guy who worked for Sheikh Mohammed and he dropped a few names at the PO for me). Saudi may be a different matter - Oman is for sure. ESPECIALLY if you are talking about indigenous antique blades. In Oman it is against the law to take old blades out of the country. They are prized over the beautiful work of the jambiya scabbards. The Iranians that I met smuggled swords out of their country by boat at night. The would ride along side a big freight ship crossing the Gulf and literally throw bundled swords to the crew from small boats in the dark. They risked serious trouble if caught. I heard the same about Iraq, but this was before Saddam ran for the spider hole.

Anyway, Carter. you say your blade is new? It looks like these two came from the same "source". Do you know any specifics about where yours came from?

-d

[derek]

I found some of the blades I photographed in Dubai. Here they are. Almost all have "refurb" work done on them. some of it is obvious, others I would only know because the dealer let me into his world and told me. I'll throw in a few "Bablonian" fake statues as well. I also saw some fantastic authentic (and forged) coins. These guys are good. Better than we often realize.

[derek]

There is one sword I'm remembering that had scabbard work very similar to both of yours. I'm having trouble finding it, but I'll try and post. I remember that it was new work on the one I photographed.

-d

[M.carter]

Hello,

My sword has the same adhesive that Eftihis has got on his sword. Just to check how hard it was, I poked it with strong pressure with a needle, it did not go in, so I would say that would be fairly strong (although the hilt on mine is fixed with rivets, not just resin). I do not know exactly where my sword has been made, a Kuwaiti friend of mine gave it me as a gift, I asked him where in Arabia has it been made, he told me Abha. I'm pretty sure that my sword and Eftihi's came from the same 'source', as they are identical, except for the hilts. I can surely say that this sword is my favourite.

I also was browsing some local antiques shops, one of them had two more of these, except the ones he had had straight, plain blades.

[M.carter]

Originally Posted by derek

Good point, Tom! Carter is speaking from experience about exporting though, I'm sure. I found that things move in and out of Dubai without too much trouble, as long as you use courier or freight container (This may have changed recently). If you use Dubai Post its all over. They won't allow anything to leave, and to receive a blade took an act of God (almost, I worked for a guy who worked for Sheikh Mohammed and he dropped a few names at the PO for me). Saudi may be a different matter - Oman is for sure. ESPECIALLY if you are talking about indigenous antique blades. In Oman it is against the law to take old blades out of the country. They are prized over the beautiful work of the jambiya scabbards. The Iranians that I met smuggled swords out of their country by boat at night. The would ride along side a big freight ship crossing the Gulf and literally throw bundled swords to the crew from small boats in the dark. They risked serious trouble if caught. I heard the same about Iraq, but this was before Saddam ran for the spider hole.

Anyway, Carter. you say your blade is new? It looks like these two came from the same "source". Do you know any specifics about where yours came from?

-d

Yeah, exporting (even importting sometimes) is a real pain in some ME (UAE an exception). I always wanted to buy the AT1518 but that would not be allowed in the country im in. Any sharp objects, firearms, airguns, paintball guns, fireworks are not allowed to be imported inside Kuwait, although all these things are readily available inside, which is a real shame, as I cannot buy any sword from ebay or whatever.

[derek]

I found Abha in KSA near the Red Sea, south of Mecca and across from Ethiopia. So, I wonder if they do the work there, or if it may have come from somewhere else, like Yemen.

[M.carter]

Originally Posted by derek

I found Abha in KSA near the Red Sea, south of Mecca and across from Ethiopia. So, I wonder if they do the work there, or if it may have come from somewhere else, like Yemen.

It may or may not be from abha, im not sure. Have you ever heard of the annual Janadriya festival?

[derek]

Only that it's a cultural festival in KSA and happens to fall around the same dates as the Dubai Shopping festival, which is another cultural event. I went to the Global Village during the shopping festival two years in a row and found MANY excellent blades offered by sellers in the Yemen pavillion. I found Arabian, African, Indo-persian, they had it all. If only I didn't have 2 kids to feed , I would have cleaned them out.

Are there good blades to be found at the Janadriya Festival?

-d

[M.carter]

Originally Posted by derek

Only that it's a cultural festival in KSA and happens to fall around the same dates as the Dubai Shopping festival, which is another cultural event. I went to the Global Village during the shopping festival two years in a row and found MANY excellent blades offered by sellers in the Yemen pavillion. I found Arabian, African, Indo-persian, they had it all. If only I didn't have 2 kids to feed , I would have cleaned them out.

Are there good blades to be found at the Janadriya Festival?

-d

There are excellent blades to be found in Janadriya. Swordsmiths come from all Saudi arabia to Janadriya during this festival and produce excellent swords and Jambiyas (as cultural heritage).