Two sikin panjang enter my collection
 

This two pieces will enter my collection!

Very nice. Especially after a clean up! Congratulations!

Sajen, lovely pieces. Are the scabbard mouths ivory?

Hello Jose and Ian,

Thank you! :cool: And yes, the scabbard mouths are from ivory.
I will post pictures soon as I have received them and have given them some care.

Regards,
Detlef

Hello Detlef,

Nice catch, curious how the look after cleaning

Hi Danny,

Thank you! I received them yesterday. The auction house had interchanged the scabbards and one scabbard mouth was once broken and got reglued, the blade which looks more worse on the picture is the better one and I've tried to clean a window, it's time consuming but the blade will look great when complete cleaned, it has inlays at the crown (the most is gone), the spine and on the blade, also here is the most gone.
Both are nicer than the picture suggests. Some first pictures will follow.

Regards,
Detlef

Here are some first pictures, one scabbard is cleaned, the other one I've cleaned a window from dirt and grease, the blades I've started, by the one with inlays only a window.

When I finish the work I will post further pictures.

Hi Detlef,

A beautiful catch indeed a Sikin is also on my wish list.


Regards, Martin

Nice cath Detlef.

A sikin with a pentagram is still on my wish list.

Hi Detlef


Very nice Sikin, although I have no knowledge about it.
How do you clean the blades?
Regards
Marc

Hi Willem,

Thank you! :cool: The blade with gold inlay and pentagram was an extra surprise when I received them. It wasn't visible on the auction picture.

Regards,
Detlef

Thank you Marc! I clean them with sanding paper from coarse to fine.

They will stay in nice company with my two other sikins! ;)

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Martin,

Also to you, thank you! I am sure that a nice sikin will cross your way in short or a little bit longer! ;)

Hi Detlef,

Yes I am sure one day.

Regards, Martin

Hi Detlef,

The look already better than on the photos from the auction house.
The inlay is a nice bonus!
I really like the carving on the bottom of one of the scabbards.

Nice work Detlef!

Hi Danny,

Both have potential but both need a lot of attention. I will work on them and will post pictures when they look like I want to have them! :D;)

Regards,
Detlef

Thank you Jose but until now I've only cleaned and cared for the scabbards and handles and started to clean the blades, there is still a long way until they look like I want to have them.

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Detlef,

Both beautiful sikin panjangs.
As you know, these blades wandered through the regions upnorth (Aceh, Alas, Gajo, even in the Batak regions).

In the smaller sikin you can clearly see the 'evidence' of such wandering.
The motif at the tip of the scabbard is Gayo style, while the sikin itself and the other motifs carved in the scabbard are Achenese. I like these kind of 'crossculturals' a lot.

Regards,
Maurice

Thank you Maurice! :)


Thank you for answering my never asked question if someone is familiar with the carving at the tip on the smaller one. So it's Gayo! :) Are you able to show similar motives?

Regards,
Detlef

Hello Detlef,

This one encounters your motif at the tip of your sikin sheath the most.

Regards,
Maurice

Another one that resembles the motif.

Thank you very much Maurice! :)

Regards,
Detlef

It's the same sword, first picture shows it on the auction house photo and like I have received it, second picture after a short and superficial clean up with two windows polished in, the third picture after a better but not finished clean up.

Details without flash. Like you can see at the above posted first picture had the blade active rust when I received it, the pitting let by the dark areas is still visible, the bolster area was a challenge to clean, the scarred surface near the tip is not rust pitting, it's either from the original forge finish or from a later straightening from the blade tip!? Any suggestions? The other side has a flat surface.

The blade tip surface seen from the other side.

Most of the inlay work is gone, sadly.

Hi Detlef,

Nice job with cleaning the blade.
It looks so much better without the active rust and pitting. It also shows a nice lamination!
I have no clue about the surface of the blade near the tip.
The missing gold inlay (partly or totally) on several old sikins is more common.
It once looked like this in its best days....
Always keep in mind that they were all warriors, so war related damages and missing parts can occur :)

Kind regards,
Maurice

Detlef,

you did an outstandig job on the Sikin, and i love how it came out of the TLC

Regards, Martin

PS, and a photo of my sikin Peusangan with remnants of gold inlay, mostly gone...

Good job Detlef!

Happy New Year! :)

Thank you Juri! :) All the best for the new year!

Thank you Martin! :)

Best regards,
Detlef

Hi Maurice,

Thank you! And yes, I've handled several sikins with missing gold inlays. But it's nice when it is still there like in the one from the example you show.

Best regards,
Detlef

Detlef, I think the alteration to the tip is a fix for a bent blade at that spot. It may well have been done by a blacksmith or the owner, rather than a panday. The repair looks village quality at best, and not particularly "professional."

Hi Ian,

That was my thought as well but now, after the cleaning I think it has to do with the lamination, the dings go confirm with the lamination. I will show it by pics as soon as I am ready with the cleaning and the light it allows here in Germany.

Regards,
Detlef