Knife from the Maldives

drdavid · 6th December 2005, 10:40 AM

Hi again
I bought this in the Maldives about 20 years ago. I was told at the time that it was used for (amongst other things) writing in traditional script on leaves and that was why the tip was curled. I am curious if anyone has anything to offer on the piece. I know it is not strictly a fighting weapon so am not sure if I am out of line posting here. It is about 24 cms (10") long.The inlays seem to be silver, the handle ivory or bone. The blade has old rust patina with a little pitting. Speaking of which, I come from bayonet collecting background. With them the ideal is minimal cleaning, leave the patina as is, but I noticed from reading a few dozen posts on this board that some cleaning/polishing seems ok with the mostly asian and african swords I see posted here, is that a correct or incorrect conclusion .

6th December 2005, 10:40 AM	#1
drdavid Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 371	Knife from the Maldives Hi again I bought this in the Maldives about 20 years ago. I was told at the time that it was used for (amongst other things) writing in traditional script on leaves and that was why the tip was curled. I am curious if anyone has anything to offer on the piece. I know it is not strictly a fighting weapon so am not sure if I am out of line posting here. It is about 24 cms (10") long.The inlays seem to be silver, the handle ivory or bone. The blade has old rust patina with a little pitting. Speaking of which, I come from bayonet collecting background. With them the ideal is minimal cleaning, leave the patina as is, but I noticed from reading a few dozen posts on this board that some cleaning/polishing seems ok with the mostly asian and african swords I see posted here, is that a correct or incorrect conclusion . Attached Images