Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Unknown South East Asian knife for comment

A. G. Maisey · 26th February 2026, 12:24 PM

Thank you Detlef.

I know nothing about this type of knife, but in this thread I have now seen several knives with similar hilts and with very different blades. Do all of these variant knives have the same name? Are they all from the same place? Do they all have the same ethnic background?

I believe that you would have noticed that I do not like guessing about origins, I like evidence, not unfounded opinions, so I am not proposing any geographic point of origin for the blade with the double crown.

Any knife begins with the blade.

Any geographic location produces similar knife blades to carry out similar functions.

I can see no similarity at all between these three knife blades.

The knife that began the discussion has a blade with a quite distinctive baluster that is usually associated with a location that is very far from the location where this particular type of hilt supposedly originates.

Do we have any evidence of a knife blade similar to the double crown blade coming from any specific geographic location?

Old blades & old hilts & old scabbards have been combined into usable weapons & tools for as long as tools & weapons have been made, sometimes by users, sometimes by dealers, sometimes by collectors. Not every item that comes into our hands needs to be believed to be as it was originally made, many of these utilitarian items are made by combining unrelated parts simply to make a tool or weapon as needed.

Then again we have the undeniable truth that blade making centres have been shipping blades across S.E. Asia & beyond for hundreds of years --- & still are.

If we believe that its identification as having a Malay ethnic origin is sufficient, well, I guess that is some sort of opinion, but as far as I can see, that opinion can only apply to the hilt, not to the entire knife

Sometimes our questions might not be able to be given supportable answers.

26th February 2026, 12:24 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,174	Thank you Detlef. I know nothing about this type of knife, but in this thread I have now seen several knives with similar hilts and with very different blades. Do all of these variant knives have the same name? Are they all from the same place? Do they all have the same ethnic background? I believe that you would have noticed that I do not like guessing about origins, I like evidence, not unfounded opinions, so I am not proposing any geographic point of origin for the blade with the double crown. Any knife begins with the blade. Any geographic location produces similar knife blades to carry out similar functions. I can see no similarity at all between these three knife blades. The knife that began the discussion has a blade with a quite distinctive baluster that is usually associated with a location that is very far from the location where this particular type of hilt supposedly originates. Do we have any evidence of a knife blade similar to the double crown blade coming from any specific geographic location? Old blades & old hilts & old scabbards have been combined into usable weapons & tools for as long as tools & weapons have been made, sometimes by users, sometimes by dealers, sometimes by collectors. Not every item that comes into our hands needs to be believed to be as it was originally made, many of these utilitarian items are made by combining unrelated parts simply to make a tool or weapon as needed. Then again we have the undeniable truth that blade making centres have been shipping blades across S.E. Asia & beyond for hundreds of years --- & still are. If we believe that its identification as having a Malay ethnic origin is sufficient, well, I guess that is some sort of opinion, but as far as I can see, that opinion can only apply to the hilt, not to the entire knife Sometimes our questions might not be able to be given supportable answers.