Posted 8 years ago
Stashassas…
(1 item)
Approx 11cm total length in sheath. Blade approx 4.5cm long.
Only known history is may have come from Burma, as it came from a collection from there, along with a headhunter's knife.
Bone handle, silver sheath, reptile skin inlay (would love to know what type - snake?), and what looks like gold inside the embossing pattern on sheath, steel blade.
The point of the sheath is also very sharp and a potential weapon.
Snakes don't have beaded-looking scales. I would guess lizard, one of the monitor lizard species found locally wherever that blade is from in Asia.
Stingray is beaded and was an exotic choice for hilts.
T A
TubeAmp is correct, it is ray skin. This is actually a fancy multi-use knife, probably from Tibet although the style is more regional than the geographic boundaries of a single country (yours is small but they don't get real big - I have a similar one with a 17 cm knife). Usually there is a leather strap riveted onto the back of the sheath and it hangs from a belt. These small blades are used for virtually any purpose a knife can be put to including food preparation and sewing chores. The sheath and matching grip are castings. They are usually highly decorated using various metals, semi-precious stones, coral, etc.