Last year my father-in-law gave me what apears to be an antique sword of some kind...but I have no idea what it is. Some folks on SBG said perhaps a Persian Quadara or a variation of a Russian Kindjal, but I've not been able to confirm this. Has anyone here seen one of these before? I'm very curious about the history of this type of blade. Thanks for looking...

A couple more pics...

I too believe it's a kindjal.
I haven't seem one with such a blade but i like it very much, great find.

I have one of these in my collection, it is a very good find on your father in laws part. It is not so much 'Russian' as it is from the Caucasus and Black Sea area

Hi,
Net search for Quadara/Quaddara will give you info re this type of weapon. Hope this is of help.
Regards,
Norman.

Quaddara (with variation in the spelling) is the Persian/Iranian name.

Bebut is, AFAIK, the Azeri name. They're quite common in Azerbaijan (or, at least, used to be).

In Russian, they are usually called kindjal (which is also used for the straight double-edged blades).

So, perhaps, if you want to know the "proper name", it is necessary to know the region of origin.

There might be naming differences for the curved double-edged blades and the curved single-edged blades (single-edged, neglecting a short back edge). The Russian military ones are double-edged (unless I'm confused by bad replicas), which are often called "bebut" to distinguish them from Russian military straight kindjals.

Some further discussion of these, and similar, swords:
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.p...e-of-Sword
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.p...nd-kindjal
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2528
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=58614

Go with what Manoucher says as far as names. He really is the expert.

I will try to take some photos of mine to post, work depending. I cannot tell you much about mine. Unlike the bulk of my collection that was bought in the middle east this one was bought at a gun show in Fayetteville North Carolina.

Timo, thanks for the links. I'll check'em out when I'm off work.

@ David, I look forward to seeing pics of yours. :)

The other day my Father-in-law asked me to bring the piece to his house so he could look it over. He said he new some key things to look for to see if it is authentic. When I handed it to him, he immediately looked at the back of the scabbard's chape. After a few seconds, he said, "reproduction."

He pointed out a solder joining the chape together, and said if it was an actual antique it would not be soldered. Was his assessment correct? See below...

From what I can see on the photographs, NO.

I agree with Norman, soldering has existed since at least 3000 BC and would have been available to an inhabitant of the Caucasus mountains in the 18th-20th centuries.

One correction I might make in terms of its name, a better pronunciation/transliteration of the Russian term is "kinzhal" as it is spelled кинжал in Russian and the ж character is pronounced "zh." According to my girlfriend, who is a native Russian speaker, the word means any dagger not just ones from the Caucasus.

If that's a reproduction it's the kind I'd like to own. ;)
Very handsome blade.

Good news indeed, thank you gentlemen! :)

Soldering is an old technology, perhaps 6000 years old already. So soldering (and brazing) don't mean "modern". (The particular solder alloy might.) Also, the reproductions I've seen haven't had solder seams like that.

It's probably a repair (and could be a modern repair). Scabbards get recovered, replaced, etc., and sometimes the old scabbard fittings suffer in the process. The suspension ring mount is a different metal from the rest of the scabbard mounts? Could be mix-and-match scabbard parts.

Russian Imperial issue Model of 1907 issued to artillery and machine gun crews. One of the last attempts to use swords as combat weapons. When the Bolsheviks took over they discontinued it as military issue.

Originals have proof marks on blade and scabbard.

The 1907 bebut is different. Double-edged diamond section blade with narrow fullers next to the central ridge, different hilt, different scabbard. An example, from http://www.sailorinsaddle.com/product.aspx?id=832
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