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petermorwood darksp3ctre
victoriansword

Khyber knife, gladius, bronze age swords and experimental archaeology

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One of the most interesting things in this video is to see just how big a Khyber knife actually is.

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Looking at photos and estimating length from the grip is one thing, seeing the whole weapon in Matt Easton’s hand is another.

George MacDonald Fraser mentioned their size and mass in several of the “Flashman” novels, but Khyber KNIFE gave the impression of something like a big Bowie knife. As the video and photos show, they can be twice as long. 

This web-page comes straight out and calls their example a “Khyber sword”, though Afghan / Pashtun swords are different beasts entirely - the pulwar is curved like a scimitar…

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…while the pahari is straight and doubled-edged with a “cobra-hood” flare at the hilt.

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As an addition to Matt’s comments about cut vs thrust with Khyber knives, there’s a Kipling story - “The Drums of the Fore and Aft” - which mentions that Afghans “…don’t understand thrustin’, but they’re devils to slice…

Some Khyber knives were definitely intended more for cut than thrust, and this one…

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…is like a yataghan on steroids.

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arms and armour swords Indian swords yataghan Khyber choora