Jambiya experience?

[Tengu Joker]

Anyone here own or have any experience with Jambiyas? I have always been interested in middle eastern blades and I am interested in any info I can find on them....

 

[UniqueAntiquegallery]

Anyone here own or have any experience with Jambiyas? I have always been interested in middle eastern blades and I am interested in any info I can find on them....

I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which has borders with Oman (the most famous worldwide for Jambiyas) and Iam a collector of all types of Jambiyas
I would be glad to give you any information you would like.

Brief history
the Jambiya (or Janbiya) form of dagger originated in the Arabian Peninsula, likely in Oman and Yemen. These forms spread geographically in parallel with the Islamic expansion and trade routes that arab muslims followed.
“some forms of this back-curving dagger exists wherever Muslim people have settled.” , George C. Stone.
Archaeological studies in the region have traced the Janbiya’s origins as early as 6000 years back, where men of early civilizations that once dominated the region are shown with Janbiyas wrapped around their waists in ancient manuscripts & drawings, among which is the Kingdom of Sheba that was once ruled by the widely celebrated queen of Sheba (pronounced as the kingdom of “Sabaa” in Arabic) which modern evidence tends towards it’s existence in Yemen in southern Arabia.
Early Janbiya’s hilts were made mainly out of a Rhino’s horn & this tradition continued till today, where the most prestigious & high priced Janbiyas are made out of the same material.

Types
Janbiyas are divided into Two major categories, which in turn branch into several sub-categories, as follows (in brief) :
1) Azizi - Saifani, Zaraaf, Asa’adi, Basali.
Azizi types are the most prestigious & expensive ones, which are usually only owned & worn by the rich & highly-ranked men in society. It is the hilt which distinguishes the Azizi types, which is carved from the Rhinoceros horn, featuring a very magnificent look & colour, with the Saifani being the most prestigious of all Janbiyas, and of course the most expensive one, with prices

I have a diverse collection of Jambiyas, such as the one below.

 

[UniqueAntiquegallery]

reaching over hundred thousand dollars! The most expensive Janbiya ever sold is said to be the Janbiya currently owned by sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmar, which is rumoured to have been bought with an astonighing one million dollars!

2) Karak – Masoo’e, Mahbashe, Seene.

These are usually the most common ones which are spread all over Yemen & most Yemeni men have a variant of this type of Jambiya. These jambiyas' hilts are usually made from various animals' horns & hoofs, such as ox horns & camel hoofs. Contrary to the Saifani Jambiya, this type of Jambiya is usually priced starting at 100$ & can be found with various designs & patterns, depending on the region that it was made in, design patterns & it's age.

 

[joseph vitullo]

How are the metal sheaths crafted? Like, how do they make all those designs on the metal? Is metal wire
attached to a metal sheath or?

 

[jfk1110]

Interesting bit of info, thanks for sharing that with us. Are there any other major tidbits of info that would help those of us whose attention has been "piqued" now.

 

[alex]

I would like to see some pictures of the actual knives. Also, are the knives useful at all or strictly decorative and traditional? The ones I recall seeing didn't seem very practical due to the extreme curvature of the blade.