Military Barong
 

Hello all,

I am more familiar with kukri, but today a very good friend made me the custodian of this barong. Being a weapon I am totally unfamiliar with I wonder if the presence of a military style leather frog/hanger, means that it is a military example, or merely a barong which somebody chose to carry whilst serving. The benefits of such a knife speak for themselves.

The leather itself is a great fit, and general wear shows the two have been together for quite some time.

The leather has a military marking of a crown over an M, does anybody recognise the marking, or have a guess as to nationality?

Any information, comments or suggestions are most welcome!

that is a cocos island parang. the scabbard and overall blade shape are diagnostic, note the integral finger guard.

there is one malay family in the cocos island that makes them. apparently the german commerce raider Emden grounded there after being disabled by british warship HMAS Sydney in ww1. the family mentioned uses it as a steel source. they made a lot of them for sale to troop ships that stopped by on the way to war in ww2.

the frog on yours may have been added later.

i have two myself, they come in assorted sizes. mine have 4.75" and 9" blades. yours appears to be larger. also pic of the Emden

Id guess Java? Indonesia Chris, looks possibly related to a Wedung?

Given that I wonder if the crown over M is Dutch?

Spiral

ah, spiral - we cross posted. :)

definitely a cocos island parang (or golok) (see post no. 2.) ref: Imperial war museum, london.

i'd bet the frog was added by a soldier in ww2.

info on the cocos (keeling) islands: Linky

p.s. forgot to mention the scabbards and grips are made of ironwood.

'+Thank you Kronckew&Spiral,

Most interesting indeed!

Blade length 13 inches, overall 17 3/4's inches.

I like the idea that a piece of German ship was crafted into a knife, and possibly sent back to fight the Germans!

I also love the fact it was made by on family from such a small community!

It is a great knife, and I am very pleased to add it to my collection.

Thanks again for the information,

Chris

Further update,

The crown M marking ties in with German naval markings from WW1 (the M denoting Marine, in conjunction with the crown of the Kaiser 1871-1918)

The use of such leatherwork, gathered/salvaged from the beached German ship, would tie in with Kronckew's attribution.

Exciting stuff!!

Ahhh great stuff Kronckew! There you go Crhis! Nice history to go with it. ;)

Spiral

interesting info on the crown 'm'.

definitely this is a case of beating swords into ... er, more swords - in lieu of plowshares!