History :
Since Iranians are known among the world as fearless warriors and master explorers, they must have had good war tools, because the name of war tools has survived in the Persian language, some of which are found in ancient Persia, that is, in the writings of the Achaemenid period and most of them. We find it in the religious book of Iranians, Avesta, and interestingly, the names of most of the mentioned tools can be seen among the writings in the present time, the eyebrow bow, the giso lasso, and the eyelash dart are among the beautiful and pleasant similes of Persian literature.The history of the knife industry in Iran should be searched for in the times when having a cold weapon was one of the necessities of every person's life (Iranshahr, vol. 2). One of the oldest inhabited areas in Iran, which dates back to the sixth millennium, is the Silk Hill of Kashan. The oldest works obtained from Silk are made of stone, including a knife with a bone handle and a flint blade that belongs to 4200 BC. Sharden narrates that in his time, none of the Iranians left the house without a sword, the blade of these swords was so sharp that according to old stories, if a warrior was hit with his hand on a horse, it would cut him in half from the head to the saddle.With the introduction of firearms into the market, the carrying and use of cold weapons became obsolete. The sword-making industry is also on the decline and continues to exist as far as knife-making and the making of swords are needed in daily life. One of the cities that has preserved the knife-making and swords-making industry and has the most fame in Iran is the city of Zanjan. Is. The knife making industry in Zanjan is definitely the result of factors such as the geographical location and the role of Zanjan in various historical wars (before Islam and after Islam), the location of Souq Al-Jishi province compared to the neighboring provinces, being at the head of eastern and western civilizations and being close to the central plateau. Availability of raw materials and rich mines of iron and copper. . . is.In the investigations carried out and according to the evidences obtained, it is not possible to definitely announce the exact and specific date around the start of this industry in Zanjan province. The oldest knife obtained from the salt man's collection in Cheharabad salt mine (Hamzalu village) belongs to eighteen centuries ago. This knife has a goat horn handle and its length is 11 cm, which is connected to a blade with the use of two rivets, the length of the blade is 8.5 cm, the blade is a little rusty. Its sheath is made of leather and it was attached to his clothes with a leather band. The length of the sheath is 15.5 cm. There is a slot in its width, which probably contains a device similar to an ear cleaner or some kind of pin.

The said knife can be called as the first and oldest reliable document obtained regarding the Zanjan knife industry. With the rise and rise of the religion of Islam and its spread throughout Iran, the city of Zanjan was one of the areas that faced the arrival of the Arab invaders, and this led to the emergence of numerous wars, as well as the production of cold weapons and the prosperity of metalworking in the region.

In the first four centuries of Islamic civilization, most of the metal objects, apart from minor changes, were basically imitations of Sassanid period metalwork, but from the fifth century onwards, Iran's metalworking industry entered a new stage, which can be called artistic revival, to Specifically, during the Seljuk period, some metalworking artists migrated to this area, as we read in the book "Seven Thousand Years of Metalworking Art" in Iran, written by Mohammad Taghi Ehsani:According to the names listed on some of them, the creators of these exquisite works are Khorasani artists who settled in the east and northeast of Iran. Some of them, due to the bloody wars and local clashes in the era of the kings and emirs of this era, such as the Samanids, the Ghaznavids, and finally the Seljuqs, who had made the Khorasan region an arena for conquest, left their homeland in other cities such as Zanjan, Borujard, Hamadan, They settled in Tabriz and especially in the city of Mosul.The unique and exquisite works of this group of Iranian metalwork artists in the city of Mosul reached such a degree of world fame that it became known as Mosul art. In the 7th century A.H., the cities of Abad and the industrial and artistic centers of the Seljuqs were destroyed in the 7th century A.H. and as a result, the master metalworkers, like other artists, were forced to leave their workshops and go to the art centers in the west of Iran. And they turned to the north of Mesopotamia to be safe from the invasion of the Mongols. With the arrival of Iranian metalsmiths in the Mesopotamian art centers such as Mosul, the style and style of Iranian metalwork found influence there as well and was transferred from Mosul to Syria and Egypt.

During the Ilkhanate period, centers such as Tabriz, Maragheh and Soltanieh took the place of cities such as Herat, Merv, Neishabur and became the center of gathering of artists and craftsmen who, under the support and encouragement of the rulers of the time, started creating works of art again. Especially during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh, Al-Jayto, Soltanieh, his capital, became one of the largest metalworking centers of that time.

In the middle of the 15th century, Iranian metalworkers stopped following the previous styles, especially Mongolian, which was monotonous and boring. These artists, due to the spread of new religious beliefs (Shia) on the one hand and political developments in the country, on the other hand, adopted a new style in They created the art of metalwork.

With the coming of the Safavids, a new chapter was opened in the Iranian school of art. In the beginning of Shah Ismail Safavid's reign, in the war between the Iranians and the Ottomans, he got help from various cities to supply war weapons and tools, in the book "Shah Jang Iranians in Greece and "Chaldran" we read:

Arms were made in many cities of Iran, but a few arms-making centers in Iran were more important than other places, one of them was Karand, where they made all kinds of arms, including armor, helmets, and the other was Zangan or Zanjan. Zanjani craftsmen were skilled in making swords and daggers, they also made all kinds of weapons in Isfahan, Ray, and Tabriz. With Shah Ismail's encouragement, Iranian craftsmen who were outside of Azerbaijan also started making weapons.In fact, since the end of the 10th century, the superiority of Iranian weapons in the world became known to everyone. Taverine, the famous French traveler, who traveled to Iran 9 times during the reign of Shah Safi and Shah Abbas II, King Suleiman, believes that Iranians have complete mastery in the art of steelmaking and know how to use steel to make sword, dagger, machete, and knife blades. Prepare with alum and other ingredients in different stages.

The quality of the steel products of these artists is due to the steel that was brought to Iran from a region of India called Gol Kanda. These weapon manufacturers do not consider European steel and Iranian steel suitable, because it is easier for them to soften Indian steel. Chardin, another French traveler, in the 16th century in his detailed travelogue, gave a detailed description of Iran's sword and machete.

From the 16th century to the 19th century AD, there were changes in the making of sword blades in Iran, which means that its blade gradually became more curved and curved, and from the 17th to the 19th century, its curvature became the shape of modern swords. During the Safavid era, masters such as Abdul Ghaffar Sakak (religious leader) played an important role in the prosperity of Zanjan knife making. This industry continued in the same style until the Qajar period, that is, until the period of Naser al-Din Shah, and the most famous of them were the Karand knives or the knives made by Hasan (the name of master Zanjani, one of the masters of that period).

"Zanjan city has been one of the important industrial centers since around the 10th century AH, in which the various workshops of Dair weaponry and knife making are also considered as one of its side industries". With the discovery of the unique collection of salt man, the historical background of this industry in Zanjan since eighteen centuries ago is definitely known.

Among other reliable documents available in the National Document Center, we can mention the usual correspondence and a sheet of minutes of the knife makers' meeting dated 1323. The names and signatures of 31 Zanjani knife makers are mentioned in this document. Types of knives in terms of shape and parts of different types of constructions: Master knife makers, according to the taste of the applicants, prepare and market a variety of knives in different sizes, which sometimes have a display and museum aspect, but generally the mentioned products have a practical and consumption aspect, unfortunately, the knowledge of making some types of knives It was unique to a master work that disappeared with his death.

Considering the type of application, the following division can be considered about the knives made in Zanjan: 1) types of knives with latches 2) fruit knives 3) single-edged two-handled knives (fixed blade) 4) gardening and grafting knives 5 ) Butcher knives 6) Slaughter knife 7) Leg knife 8) Compound knives 1-8) One-handled knives: 2-8) Double-handled knives: 9) Types of sator 1-9) Butcher sator (grilling) 2-9 ) Sator for chopping vegetables 10) Types of sharpeners 1-10) One-blade sharpener 2-10) Two-blade sharpener 3-10) Three-blade sharpener 10-4) Four-blade sharpener 5-10) Six-blade sharpener 11) Types of knives: 1 - 11) Hunting and field knives 2-11) Kitchen knives 12- Types of swords (only have a decorative aspect): 1-12) Zulfikar sword 2-12) Samurai sword 12-3) Neck-cutting sword 13) Types of machetes (only decorative) 14) Types of Qadara (only decorative) 15) Types of daggers (only decorative) 16) Sugar crusher 1-16) Sugar crusher ax 2-16) Knives made by Zanjan can be divided into two big categories based on their components: 1- Simple 2- Compound 1) Simple knives: Components of a simple knife: 1- Handle, 2- Nail, 3- Spring, 4- Blade 5-Band, 6-Liner, 7-Top Simple knives are divided into several categories in terms of the number of parts and appearance: 1-1) One-piece knife: In this type of knife, the blade is made without a spring and by two nails on the handle. It is made of goat horn, cow, fiber, etc., the components of this type of knife include handle, nail and blade. All kinds of butcher knives , butchery, saturgosht (barbecuing) and satur sabzi are part of this category. 2-1) The small blade knife is like the first type, only it has an additional spring. Leg knife is also part of this category. 1-3) The pencil sharpener has a handle and a spring, but without a guarantee. Components of a single-blade penknife: 1- Blade 2- Spring 3- Strap 4- Liner 5- Top 6- Nails (5 pieces). Among the most famous professors of this field, we can mention the Toslian brothers (Javad and Jalil) and professor....Nazem Parvar.1-4) Latch knives, which are divided into five types in terms of the latch and its shape: 1) external latch 2) internal latch (brain) 3) blade (ramsey) 4) hex 5) push 1-4-1 Latch (outside latch): This type of latch is a button outside the handle that, by pressing it, releases the latch spring of the blade and closes the blade. This knife consists of the following components: A - Latch sheet B - Spring C - Lining piece C - Upper piece E - One blade 2-4-1) Brain latch (internal latch): This type of knife is the same as the first type with this difference. The latch button is installed at the level of the knife handle in the groove inside the handle.3-4-1) Zamandar Ramzi (blade): This type of knife consists of a handle, two blades and two springs, where the small blade is considered as the key of the big blade. That is, when the big blade is in the open state, in order to close it, you have to put pressure on the small blade that is lying down, and in this way, the big blade is released from the latch and closes. 4-4-1) Push latch: In this type of knives, the latch is used near the nail of the blade and it is a pin (thorn) that is placed near the handle and the place where the blade joins the handle. By pressing the PIM, the latch causes the blade to be thrown out and when closing,Again by pressing the same pin, the blade is closed. In the first four types, after pressing the latch button, the latch releases the blade and then the blade is opened slowly by hand, but in the fifth type, by pressing the latch button, the blade jumps out like a spring. 1-4-4-1) Bex claw knife: It is considered as a subset of pressure ratchet knives. In this type of knife, there is a device that has 4 holes for placing the fingers and is connected to the knife spring. It is useful. It should be noted that the production of this type of knife is prohibited in Zanjan according to the resolution of the Islamic Council.5-1) Fruit knives: usually have a blade, handle and spring, which are produced in different sizes. 6-1) double-handled single-blade knives (fixed blade): in such knives, the handle is exclusively made of metals such as brass or other alloys, this type of knife includes one blade and two handles, and these two handles, the blade are covered from both sides and after the knife is closed, it turns into a rectangular cube shape.This type of knife has a fixed blade (usually with two sharp edges), each of the two handles rotates around half of the length of the blade and the blade does not move at all. This knife has no spring and is completely hidden when closed. The two handles are connected by a lock. One of the most famous masters of this field is the late master Inayat Elah Nazari. 1-7) Gardening blades: they include a handle, a blade, a spring, and some have a latch.The blade of this type of knife is divided into two types depending on the use: 1-7-1) Crooked tip or eagle tip: the blade is sharp like a sickle towards the inside, and some types of it are called (Mober) in the local term. 2-7-1) A grafting blade: which is used in pipe or chisel grafting and includes a handle and a short and thick broad blade in the shape of a nail and has a strong spring. 8-1) Calf 2) Compound knives: Compound knives are of two types:A: Single-handled B: Double-handled 1-2) Single-handled knives: The simplest type of compound knives that include one handle and two blades, this type of knife includes ten different types. A double-edged knife consists of a handle and two blades and a back spring, both of which may be equal in terms of the blade or one smaller than the other, and in terms of the handle, it may be tapestry or plain silver, shell or deer horn. In terms of the location of the handle, there may be two types, either both blades are on one side of the handle with two back springs, or each of the blades is located at one end of the handle, in which case a back spring is used. Basically, all the pieces that fit inside the hinged handle are called "blades". Single handle (compound) knives with three blades and more: these knives consist of a large blade, a small blade and a scissor. The number of blades in foreign types of compound knives reaches 45 blades, but the number of blades in Iranian types is more limited. The four Iranian blades were double-edged and were closed in two grooves of the handle, and the most famous makers of these knives are Mohammad Ali Thamidi, Seyyed Zanjani and Yahya Qudousi. 2-2) Two-handled: handle There are knives known as "Seva" knives. The number of blades in this type is from four blades to above, and other blades may be files, saws, forks, spoons, scissors, ear cleaner, nail file, etc. 3) Knives. There are two types of knives: hunting and cooking. 2-1-3) fixed blade (waist knives) which are of three types: 1-2-1-3) machete knives which have two edges (handles) and are tied to the waist by a sheath.2-2-1-3) Waist hunting knives that have a sharp edge and a thick back edge, the edge of some is also hammered and is tied to the waist by a sheath. 3-2-1-3) serrated knives, one end of the blade is sharp and the other end is saw-shaped. Hunting knives can be seen in various forms in terms of the type of handle, sometimes some craftsmen prepare interesting handles with special initiatives, for example, using deer feet, skin, meat and dried antlers, which are coated with oil and a special substance for hair. They shine and another type of knife handle is prepared from the whole horn of a young animal without interfering with the extras. (Only female deer horns are used, which are short, delicate and small). 2-3) Cooking knives: These knives are seen with a fixed short handle and a relatively long and fixed blade, and its size and smallness depends on its use. These knives are of 5 types: big, small, scabbard (to empty the pumpkin), stuffing and normal. 1-2-3) Fruit knives are a smaller type of cooking knife, which is used to peel fruit and slice it. These knives usually together with a small three-fingered fork and a spoon form a complete service. Its service had a special skill. A dining knife, which is like a fruit knife, but bigger and its fork has four or five fingers, along with a soup spoon, which is unique in this type of master knives. 4) types of swords: these types of products have a fixed short handle and a long and fixed blade, the swords made in Zanjan are currently not practical in any way and are purely decorative and are mostly prepared according to the customer's order and taste 1 4-Zulfiqar sword 4-2 (Samurai sword 3-4) (Neck-cutting sword 5) Types of maces (only have decorative aspects) 6) Types of Qadara (only have decorative aspects) 7) Types of daggers (only have decorative aspects) 8) sugar breaker 1-8) sugar breaker ax 2-8) sugar breaker scissors