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by arthem 1023 days ago
Historically in the Arab countries, people mainly rode camels or horses while wearing a dagger in their belt. A pointy scabbard would foible the wearer in the leg and groin. Curving the scabbard solves that problem nicely.

The blades do tend to be fairly short but longer than you would imagine as they too are curved.
1 comments
citizenpaul 1022 days ago
>A pointy scabbard would foible the wearer in the leg and groin. Curving the scabbard solves that problem nicely.

This is one of those comically out of touch armchair historian takes.

Curved blades were made back then for the same reason they are still made. They are effective at killing other humans quickly. Aimed at a throat or other vulnerable point the blade is highly likely to drag across an artery on the withdrawal thereby quickly ending your confrontation.

Curved blades don't work as well on animals with fur and thick hides.

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arthem 1022 days ago
>This is one of those comically out of touch armchair historian takes.

Having lived in the Middle East and owned a traditional curved dagger, I can safely say that the type of dagger mentioned in the original article is not used primarily for warfare. They serve as a symbol of manhood and social status. It is seen as highly disrespectful and dishonorable for a man to draw his dagger.

> Curved blades were made back then for the same reason they are still made.

Traditional Arab swords and blades intended for warefare are normally 2+ feet long. Not too sure that a 3" dagger is too effective.

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citizenpaul 1019 days ago
I never said anything about warfare. I said killing other humans.

Same as this blade has no utility purpose due to its curved shape. Other than killing a human. You can find knife combat videos online that will show the optimal stab points to quickly kill a person using this type of knife. I'm guessing people back in the days had this information as well for the similar blades in the article.

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C12G/Civilian-reg-C...

I would speculate that simply carrying such a blade openly would indicate to someone that you are familiar with life or death combat and willing to go there if necessary. Open carry has always had the secondary purpose of showing that you are not an easy target.

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blincoln 1022 days ago
Many of the scabbards in the article are so curved that it would be impossible to pull a blade of the same shape out of them. I'm sure that's what arthem was referring to.
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arthem 1022 days ago
With the daggers that I have seen and handled, the blade is curved but does not run the full length of the scabbard. It is not unusual for the blade of a L shaped scabbard to be cresent shaped[1], meaning that it is quite easy to pull the blade out.

[1] https://www.rct.uk/collection/62815/jambiya-dagger-and-scabb...

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