Another Keeling Cocos knife

[Ian]

The so-called Keeling Cocos knives are very uncommon and seem to be a hybrid of Malay, Southern Asian, and British/Australian influences. I come across one every 3-5 years or so, and found another one online recently that came from an Australian dealer. This one has the typical hilt and wooden scabbard, but the blade appears to be a recycled Brades machete (with the British makers name and trademark still present). The Brades brand comes from the Brades foundry owned by William Hunt & Sons. A page from the Brades catalogue of 1941 (see at bottom) shows the pagoda trademark that can be seen still on the blade of this knife, along with the Brades name.

The wood used in the scabbards and hilts is likely to be from Casuarina equisetifolia, a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina, and is sometimes referred to as "Beach Ironwood." This tree is native to the Cocos Keeling Islands and is one of the few sources of hardwood there.

Other threads dealing with these knives can be found here:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16373
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11935
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5313
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=290
http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000594.html

Ian.