Jambiya

A jambiya (Arabic: جنبية),[a] is a type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region in Yemen.

It is made of a certain sort of wood, to hold the blade that is fixed to the waist from underneath with an upward curved sheath.

The jambiya were taken by travelers to other cultures including the Ottoman Empire, Persia and India,[6] where they were adopted with slight differences to the blade, hilt and scabbard.

The saifani hilt is made of rhinoceros horn, which can cost up to $1500 per kilogram; poaching of Black Rhinos for this purpose has led them to become critically endangered.

Other janbiya hilts are made of a different types of horn, wood, metal and ivory from elephants and walrus.

The blade is stored in a sheath known as 'Asib (Arabic: العسيب), usually made of wood covered with metal, leather or cloth.

As ivory has only ever had ornamental merit in such an application, those that recognize the jambiya as a tool and/or weapon tend to prefer a hardwood handle anyway.

The most famous type of jambiya is that which has a "saifani" or ivory handle; it has a dim yellowish lustre.

The more translucent ivory will turn a yellow colour with age and is called "saifani heart".