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The sword of the day is the charay.
The charay, also known as the Khyber knife, is a short sword originating from the Khyber pass in Pakistan, though similar blades can be found throughout India and Persia. Despite its simple silhouette, it is a deceptively complex sword. The spine of the blade is raised, giving the blade a T-shaped cross section that lends it a tremendous amount of rigidity and strength despite its relatively thin blade.
Dussack with calendar for the year 1528. Germany.
This is a hunting knife or cleaver, likely this one, but def not a dussack.
An Arming Sword found near Castillon-la-Bataille,
England or France, ca. 1450, housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Presentation saber given by Napoleon Bonaparte to Drum Major De Stagnac during the Egypt campaign, circa 1800
from Czerny's
Overall length: 98cm (38.5in)
English sword dated 1634
from The Museum of London
A beautifully wrought and etched Dussack commissioned by the Electress Anna of Saxony for her husband August, attributed to Ulrich Jahn,
Annaberg, Germany, ca. 1570-1580, housed at the Staatliche Kunstsaamlungen, Dresden.
French sapper officer's sword, circa 1800
from Czerny's International Auction House
[abridged article by Peter Dekker, Mandarin Mansion Antiques, 2020; text and photographs licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]
A lot of the khukurī ( खुकुरी ) related vernacular in use today among collectors is based on oral traditions, and there is a lot of variety between the various glossaries that are scattered over the web. This is in part due to the various languages and dialects in use in the cultural melting pot that is Nepal.
Over time, concepts and terminology change, and on top of that many things are simply forgotten, misinterpreted, or misremembered. This article presents an annotated overview of historical khukurī terminology. The bulk of the terms come from the first Nepali-English dictionary, compiled by Sir Ralph Lilley Turner (1888 - 1983). In 1931 he wrote "A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language" which serves as the main source for the overview of terms that follows below. [1]
*Cirā is the only word in the list that is not directly related to the khukurī in the dictionary, but it is probably the word that is widely known today as chirra.
According to Taylor, cirā is derived of cirnu, literally "To split, rip up, cut, lacerate" is the word used for the ridges between each groove. [2] It is also used in the slightly different form, ciro (चिरो) to describe: "A splinter; cut, slice; (esp.) a slice of cucumber cut lengthwise."
A number of khukurī types are differentiated by the layout of their fullers, or the absence thereof:
Notes 1. Sir Ralph Lilley Turner; A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931. 2. I owe Jonathan Said for explaining that the chirra actually denote the ridges and not the fullers themselves. Personal communication. 3. Resham Shercha, an ex Gurkha. Personal communication.
Light infantry officer's saber, Kingdom of Naples, mid 18th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
Short sword, Minangkabau people (West Sumatra, Indonsia) 19th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
Flint dagger, Demark, 8000 - 2000 BC
from The Princeton University Art Museum
Tuareg dagger, North Africa, circa 1900
from Hermann Historica
Short saber with European hilt, Indonesia, 19th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
Likely a European-style hilt and blade combination produced in Indonesia, rather than a European hilt on an Indonesian blade.
Model 1845 saber issued to infantry carpenters, Italy, mid 19th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
Huh. That's...huh.
A Nimcha with a painted grip,
possibly Algeria, 17th-18th century, housed with the Royal Collection Trust.
Bangkung of the Yakan O Tausug tribes, Mindanao (The Philippines), early 20th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
Short sword from Giava, Indonesia, 19th century
from Czerny's International Auction House
