Indonesian dagger

kronckew · 25th June 2006, 05:21 PM

found this one on e-pray last week & have been following it till it closed a few minutes ago. i managed to snag it, so i thought i'd share it with y'all & see if you have any comments.

was sold as:
=============================================
PEDANG dagger

Item Specifics - Asian Antiques
Product: Sword Region of Origin: indonesia
Primary Material: steel/iron/wood Original/Repro: Original
Age: 1850-1899

Antique indonesian dagger in the shape of a pedang lurus, first 2/3 of the blade are double edged and then the back thickens to 3.5 mm. Pamor/damascus blade 20.5 cm long, hardwood hilt has some cracks. Scabbard with buffallo horn mouthpiece and carved brass younger than dagger

total length 32 cm /just under 13 inch.
=============================================

Rick · 25th June 2006, 05:25 PM

E-pray . LOL

nechesh · 25th June 2006, 06:30 PM

I believe pedang actually translates as "sword". This seems far too short for that description. Perhaps badek would be a better term.
I would love to see closer shots of the blade. Looks like it might have a pamor and could use a good clean and stain.

kronckew · 25th June 2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nechesh

I believe pedang actually translates as "sword". This seems far too short for that description. Perhaps badek would be a better term.
I would love to see closer shots of the blade. Looks like it might have a pamor and could use a good clean and stain.

that is my understanding as well, i guess you could call it a 'short short sword'

i'll post some more pics when it arrives, lime juice & arsenic may be a bit difficult to aquire (at least the arsenic bit) i'll have a look in the local garden/farmers centre at the rat poisons....failing that i have some ferric chloride which stains damascus well but is a bit non-traditional for an indonesian blade, at least lime juice clears FeCl staining off really well for next time when i find some arsenic. don't want to do anything too aggressive on it.

i'm interested in seeing what the apparent re-enforcement of the scabbard tip is, it looks a bit like the scabbard drag on a european sabre scabbard....

kronckew · 4th July 2006, 12:14 PM

well, it arrived yesterday, interesting little devil, the blade is definitely laminated, i may try a 'cleaning' etch to see if there is any pamor, the blade is essentially bright right now (or has an awful lot of nickel showing) with a number of black streaks. it is sharp as a razor on the lower edge and 2/3 the way along the top edge, flat spine for the remaining bit to the tang, which is interesting. blade is about 1/8" thick at the grip, distal taper to the point.

it appears that it is tanged much like a keris, the 2" long round tang is wrapped in a strip of sarong (nice batik pattern) and inserted firmly in an oversized hole of about 3/8" dia. in the grip. there are some cracks on the grip which have been previously glued. i'm not entirely sure the grip is not horn, it is very dark & smooth and i can't see any grain.

anyhow, on removing the knife from it's scabbard, i was greeted with a waft of perfume. i was impressed enough to email the vendor that i had recieved it & thanked him for oiling the blade with proper keris oil. (he's a collector himself, just turning over his stock as he gets new stuff in). he told me that he's not oiled in in years, it smelled like that when he got it, he has oiled it with his own keris oil which he says not only smells different, but always seems to fade rapidly on this one, with the original fragrance returning to replace it. some blades really do have the magic in them.

the scabbard appears to be covered in thin brass with decorative repousse marks, there is a raised scalloped rib around the scabbard tip to act as a protective & re-enforcing chape. the scabbard mouth is a decorative contruct of copper edged in twisted copper wire and further decorated with twisted wire scallops, some evidence of solder visible on the inside where the mouth insets (it came loose). the scabbard mouth itself is a one piece horn. the wood (and the brass cover) end internally at the start of the copper section, and the horn is cut to fit ito the opening where it is cemented in place. the brass cover has a seam along the lower side which has been soldered, and some discrete bits of solder are apparent on the copper transition piece as well where the twisted wire bits are. the whole brass section appears well used, not worn, but well used, with the occasional dings and dents of life, and a wrinkly bit in the brass about 2" from the mouth. as the vendor said, the scabbard appears newer than the rest, but it still wasn't made that recently.

Blade Pics:

Henk · 4th July 2006, 08:17 PM

Kronckew,

I believe that this is a badek, just as Nechesh already noticed. A lovely blade and I wouldn't be surprised if the blade is a pamor blade. A very nice find.

25th June 2006, 05:21 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,186	Indonesian dagger found this one on e-pray last week & have been following it till it closed a few minutes ago. i managed to snag it, so i thought i'd share it with y'all & see if you have any comments. was sold as: ============================================= PEDANG dagger Item Specifics - Asian Antiques Product: Sword Region of Origin: indonesia Primary Material: steel/iron/wood Original/Repro: Original Age: 1850-1899 Antique indonesian dagger in the shape of a pedang lurus, first 2/3 of the blade are double edged and then the back thickens to 3.5 mm. Pamor/damascus blade 20.5 cm long, hardwood hilt has some cracks. Scabbard with buffallo horn mouthpiece and carved brass younger than dagger total length 32 cm /just under 13 inch. =============================================

4th July 2006, 12:14 PM	#5
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,186	well, it arrived yesterday, interesting little devil, the blade is definitely laminated, i may try a 'cleaning' etch to see if there is any pamor, the blade is essentially bright right now (or has an awful lot of nickel showing) with a number of black streaks. it is sharp as a razor on the lower edge and 2/3 the way along the top edge, flat spine for the remaining bit to the tang, which is interesting. blade is about 1/8" thick at the grip, distal taper to the point. it appears that it is tanged much like a keris, the 2" long round tang is wrapped in a strip of sarong (nice batik pattern) and inserted firmly in an oversized hole of about 3/8" dia. in the grip. there are some cracks on the grip which have been previously glued. i'm not entirely sure the grip is not horn, it is very dark & smooth and i can't see any grain. anyhow, on removing the knife from it's scabbard, i was greeted with a waft of perfume. i was impressed enough to email the vendor that i had recieved it & thanked him for oiling the blade with proper keris oil. (he's a collector himself, just turning over his stock as he gets new stuff in). he told me that he's not oiled in in years, it smelled like that when he got it, he has oiled it with his own keris oil which he says not only smells different, but always seems to fade rapidly on this one, with the original fragrance returning to replace it. some blades really do have the magic in them. the scabbard appears to be covered in thin brass with decorative repousse marks, there is a raised scalloped rib around the scabbard tip to act as a protective & re-enforcing chape. the scabbard mouth is a decorative contruct of copper edged in twisted copper wire and further decorated with twisted wire scallops, some evidence of solder visible on the inside where the mouth insets (it came loose). the scabbard mouth itself is a one piece horn. the wood (and the brass cover) end internally at the start of the copper section, and the horn is cut to fit ito the opening where it is cemented in place. the brass cover has a seam along the lower side which has been soldered, and some discrete bits of solder are apparent on the copper transition piece as well where the twisted wire bits are. the whole brass section appears well used, not worn, but well used, with the occasional dings and dents of life, and a wrinkly bit in the brass about 2" from the mouth. as the vendor said, the scabbard appears newer than the rest, but it still wasn't made that recently. Blade Pics: Last edited by kronckew; 4th July 2006 at 01:29 PM. Reason: Added pictures of blade

25th June 2006, 05:25 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,294	E-pray . LOL

25th June 2006, 06:30 PM	#3
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	I believe pedang actually translates as "sword". This seems far too short for that description. Perhaps badek would be a better term. I would love to see closer shots of the blade. Looks like it might have a pamor and could use a good clean and stain.

4th July 2006, 08:17 PM	#6
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Kronckew, I believe that this is a badek, just as Nechesh already noticed. A lovely blade and I wouldn't be surprised if the blade is a pamor blade. A very nice find.