SE Asian knife ID
 

Any thoughts on origin for this little knife (18cm blade)? The blade is layered with small ovoid inclusions. The silver ferule and integral bolster makes me think of Sumatara but the various design elements could be at home in a number of locations, even mainland.

Hi Jeff,

Nice little knife! I vote for mainland South-East-Asia! :)

Regards,
Detlef

The distinct bolster turns me away from a Burmese, Thai, Cambodian, or Lao origin. The metal-banded, wooden "box" scabbard suggests Sumatra, Malay States, or perhaps southern China to me. Interesting knife. The silver (?) ferrule does have a SE Asian flavor, but the gradation in width of the ferrule is extreme for a mainland SE Asian knife. At least one of the bands on the scabbard has a clip, suggesting they may have come off an ammo box. WWII vintage perhaps.


More pics on a plain white background would be helpful.

I guess a Southern Thai/Northern Malaysia origin. There are no clips visible?? How long is the knife?

Regards,
Detlef

Gunong?

Sorry David,

Definitely not! ;)

The knife in question could resemble some Batak knives from Sumatra, for example the used wood for the scabbard and the silver fittings but the style of the silver fittings is just wrong, it's not Batak work. So I guess a Northern Malaysian/Southern Thai origin since I think I have seen similar knives from that region before.

Look at the picture!

Not an exact match but similar!

Nailed it Detlef, thank you. The round integral bolster, ferule, recurve blade, and pronounced curve to the handle are the common features. I can see from the similar box style scabbards on the knives you circled in the group photo that this one is missing a cap as well as a band. Cool to see a transitional piece like this between Malay and Tai.

Detlef,

I thought the circled area on the scabbard band was a clip. Perhaps not. That's why I suggested a picture with a plain background--so hard to pick up edge details on a patterned background.

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Hello Jeff,

I was sure to have seen similar knives before. We seldom see blades from this region. There is a collector scene in Thailand and other countries from Mainland South-East-Asia. I would be happy when I could add some of the items seen on the table to my own collection. :D:D

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Ian,

Yes, a plain background is always good when taking pics for the forum!

Regards,
Detlef

Agreed, I use poster board when photographing for the collection database but when in hurry the best light is the plant table... I added one more photo using the tile floor for a better result showing backside and band welds.

Getting the light right is part of it, but if we do just a couple of simple little adjustments we can get a lot more out of the image.

This edited image has had the cyan taken out of it & it has been sharpened.

Cyan is blue/green & every keris pic i take needs the cyan removed, because the colour of the light is that colour, it filters through trees and also the open sky hits the image.

Thanks Alan. Excellent tip.