Babakale Knife Making
Babakale, a village of Ayvacık District located at the tip of Bababurnu in the westernmost part of our country, is one of the most important centers known for its knifemaking. Knife makers start the history of Babakale knifemaking with the castle built in the 1720s. It is stated that after the construction of the castle was completed, the first masters were brought from Kazakhstan and settled in Babakale in order to meet the needs of the soldiers in the castle for swords, wedges and similar weapons.
It is stated that the swords, daggers and knives produced in the workshops in Babakale, which are said to have once numbered up to eighteen, were sent to many places from Syria to Egypt by ships from the port here. Babakale knives are scabbarded and patterned according to the handle structure: Eared, earless, hilt; according to their size and function: Fruit knife (14-18 cm), waist knife (20.5-22 cm), hunting knife (25 cm), sacrificial knife (30-35 cm), mostly used by shepherds.
