Fascinating! The blade is very similar to a dirk I have that somehow came into possession of in the 80's, although the friend I thought gave it to me, has no recollection. The handle on mine is very functional, with no decorations whatever. I don't know the age of mine of mine, but due to the lack of decoration, I suspect 18th century, or replica. The blade looks vintage and I do own other vintage blades (almost all Chinese). I was going to post a picture, but this forum, stopped accepting posts of my pictures. I was looking for a photo hosting site, but I don't like Photobucket because they paste their name all over the picture. Any recommendations?