Old or new ''fake'' yemeni jambiya-khanjar ?

[francantolin]

Hello,
I wanted to show you the dagger I just received,
looks like a yemeni khanjar,
total length 35cm

I liked the leather scabbard.
It was sold at a really low price so I bought it because it seemed not too recent and well made.
I knew the hilt was not made of horn but it is not wood and not just plastic-resin

Maybe made of bakelite or mixed stuff ? ( I read about that on the forum )

Do you think it's an old ''copy-imitation'' of a rhino hilted khanjar,

or can it be really recent

I tried to heat a little, it smells not like horn/hair not plastic
but a little like soap-incense.

Any comment ?

Thank you -Kind regards

[francantolin]

Sorry,
pictures are not in the right order...
some more

[kahnjar1]

Good genuine Yemeni Jambiya IMHO. Not a recent made tourist piece.
Stu

[David R]

The hilt could be "Amberoid" .... https://www.britannica.com/science/amberoid-resin

I think you got a nice one.

[Kubur]

Hi
It's a nice jambiya from Aden.
It depends what you call old, if old is 1950ties, it's old.
I think it is hornoid or bakelite.

[David R]

"I tried to heat a little, it smells not like horn/hair not plastic
but a little like soap-incense."

Which is why I am thinking something resinous, like Amberoid.

[francantolin]

Hello,

Thank you all for your comments !

50's just begins to be old for humans, for a jambiya not sure
hopefully it's not too recent.

Interesting the ''amberoid'' I didn't know it

I wonder why they used to do this kind of hilt materials instead wood or marble-stone handle and why they mixed it with real silver filgree-mounts.

- Was it to sell it high priced as a rare rhino hilted piece to the few
( I think !?! ) present strangers ( for British ? with the Aden Protectorate... )

- Or for local people who liked the similarity with horn hilt but hadn't enough
money to buy one ? ( like skaï-imitation leather instead of real one )