All About Pocket Knives

This sword is made by Jewish artisans living in Yemen. They are then put up for sale in an Arab store in the Old Section of Jerusalem. All of the scroll work is done by hand. I find it very refined but am no expert. The blue stone in the middle of the scabbord, called the Yemen stone, apparently has a lot of cultural meaning. The stone itself may be just about anything from glass to lapis. Overall length is 19''/blade length is13. Please enlarge the photos.

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For those who might not be familiar with this, left click on the photo to enlarge. This is necessary to get a good view. Thanks.

Very cool QS. Looks like a lot of work goes into those.

Thanks Greg. The concentration and steadiness of hand must be exceptional.

Here is one that I bought off e-Bay awhile back;purported to be a Russian khindjal. Very similar in style.The scrollwork appears to have been done in twisted wire.Board is 1" squares.

k7k, a very interesing post. I believe the sword design of both derives from the Roman gladius. But the design goes back a couple hundred years BC. Initially the Romans were copying the Greeks. The final form for the Romans was copied from the Celts when Rome conquered Spain, hence it was called the Spanish Sword.

k7k, I've discovered that The Yemen Stone [4th photo from the top] is agate. Supposedly has healing power and other mystical properties.

Quick Steel wrote:k7k, I've discovered that The Yemen Stone [4th photo from the top] is agate. Supposedly has healing power and other mystical properties.

I think they refer to a stone of that type as a cabuchon(sp?). The one you posted is a beautiful and well executed piece.The one I bought off e-Bay is supposedly a modern copy.The quality isn't anywhere close to yours but I don't remember paying a whole lot for it.

I can tell you the Yemeni Jewish community is very ancient. They describe themselves as the Jews who preserved ancient Hebrew. A fascinating group and I can only imagine their artisan craftsmanship would be top notch.

Very cool knives (swords?) you guys have posted.

Yehuda, thanks very much for that interesting info about the Jewish community in Yemen. Hardly a day goes by when I don't learn something new at AAPK.

We're nerds.