Just a sundang restoration

Ferguson · 24th June 2007, 09:06 PM

Hello friends,
I picked up this kris on Ebay. The description was

"Steel Sword and Rustic Wood Scabbard - Great Stage Prop or collectable Orc medieval Weapon - Dull edge but dangerous."

Now I'm not a collector of "Orc" weapons, but the pictures told a different story. On receipt, I found a nice solid sundang. The blade was in good shape. Separate gangya. Nice lines. The hilt had a missing rattan braid, but was solid. The scabbard was a basket case, but complete. It's a pretty soft mahogany, and had 2 big cracks. The previous owner had taped it up with packing tape, which had pulled off all the finish and patina. So I glued the cracks, stained and finished the wood, and learned how to braid rattan for the wraps.

I added a braid to the hilt to replace the broken ring. Looking back, I should have stained the rattan first, to better match the original wrap. That will be the next job.
There was a fairly large crack in the wood of the hilt, so I mixed some epoxy and filled it.

I etched the blade and found it laminated. After neutralizing, most of the contrast was gone except for the edge. The pictures show the faint pattern.

All in all I was very happy with my medieval Orc sword.

Comments, positive or negative, are welcomed.

Thanks,
Steve

The ebay pic.

The end product.

24th June 2007, 09:06 PM	#1
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	Just a sundang restoration Hello friends, I picked up this kris on Ebay. The description was "Steel Sword and Rustic Wood Scabbard - Great Stage Prop or collectable Orc medieval Weapon - Dull edge but dangerous." Now I'm not a collector of "Orc" weapons, but the pictures told a different story. On receipt, I found a nice solid sundang. The blade was in good shape. Separate gangya. Nice lines. The hilt had a missing rattan braid, but was solid. The scabbard was a basket case, but complete. It's a pretty soft mahogany, and had 2 big cracks. The previous owner had taped it up with packing tape, which had pulled off all the finish and patina. So I glued the cracks, stained and finished the wood, and learned how to braid rattan for the wraps. I added a braid to the hilt to replace the broken ring. Looking back, I should have stained the rattan first, to better match the original wrap. That will be the next job. There was a fairly large crack in the wood of the hilt, so I mixed some epoxy and filled it. I etched the blade and found it laminated. After neutralizing, most of the contrast was gone except for the edge. The pictures show the faint pattern. All in all I was very happy with my medieval Orc sword. Comments, positive or negative, are welcomed. Thanks, Steve The ebay pic. The end product.