Barong surprise!

[JeffS]

I bought this one off Ebay (top picture) since I've been looking for an older example with brass ferule. It was a good price so I picked it up even though it had some minor losses to the handle. I like this refined lines of this style pommel. After a light vinegar etch I was impressed by the pattern (second photo), reminds me of hairpin pattern on some Himalayan pieces. I then went to polish the handle (third photo) and found it wasn't polishing like brass and thought, could it be? Sure enough it tested as gold! This is what keeps me collecting!