The khodmi knives are most common in Morocco, but a few also are made in Algeria and other N. African areas. This style of knife is a cousin of the Morrocan Flyssa. Bou-Saada is an important market town that produces fine metalwork including these knives, sometimes referred to as “bousaadi”. One theory is that the shape is derived from or related to the Corsican and Genovese (“Genwi”) style of knives often called "vendetta knives”. Or vice-versa.
Bou-Saada was a stop on the caravan routes, just 250km south of the major Mediterranean ports. Bou-Saada was a major French tourist destination from the 1930s until independence. A great many of the examples we see today were created for the tourist trade which valued decoration over durability. The use of a forged integral bolster, shown in each of the knives pictured here, is an important feature for sturdiness and likely indicates they were not made for the tourist trade.