Help with ID

M ELEY · 20th June 2018, 11:25 AM

Sorry for not explaining the 'Shaver Cool' reference! It is in the archive. Quite a few years back, we had a post with a sword with VOC markings, brass hilt, and the word 'Shaver Cool' on the blade, believed to be a Dutch ship. The post went on and on without any definite conclusion. I've actually seen a few other swords over the years with the Shaver Cool logo and personally think it might have been a legit ship and history, but the swords all seemed to date to the 30's-40's and tourist. Hilts were often like a dragon, but poorly executed, the VOC markings crude and not very old, etc.

Now yours, on the other hand, is intriguing. The brass is cast and of better quality. It has a real patina, not some touristy 'Made in...' type. The bamboo pin replaces a screw which would have been there originally, common on Dutch swords of this period. The peened tang through the top of the hilt again shows age and well done. In my opinion (and it is ONLY that), this is an old East India Company sword blade with a later (perhaps mid to late 19th c.) hilt similar to a kastane. I don't think it was made for a market sale, but for honest-to-goodness reuse as a weapon. The hilt could have been refitted in a Dutch trading post such as Shri Lanka, the Thai peninsula or perhaps an Indian port. Something about the dragon and the star-like guard makes me think Thai or surrounding area. Now, let me be shot down by others-

Hammondtx, I really like this sword! I know you started out on the Ethnographic Forum and they send you here for the Dutch identification, but I think you still might later repost it there for their opinion of the hilt and where it might have been cast.

20th June 2018, 11:25 AM	#8
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	Sorry for not explaining the 'Shaver Cool' reference! It is in the archive. Quite a few years back, we had a post with a sword with VOC markings, brass hilt, and the word 'Shaver Cool' on the blade, believed to be a Dutch ship. The post went on and on without any definite conclusion. I've actually seen a few other swords over the years with the Shaver Cool logo and personally think it might have been a legit ship and history, but the swords all seemed to date to the 30's-40's and tourist. Hilts were often like a dragon, but poorly executed, the VOC markings crude and not very old, etc. Now yours, on the other hand, is intriguing. The brass is cast and of better quality. It has a real patina, not some touristy 'Made in...' type. The bamboo pin replaces a screw which would have been there originally, common on Dutch swords of this period. The peened tang through the top of the hilt again shows age and well done. In my opinion (and it is ONLY that), this is an old East India Company sword blade with a later (perhaps mid to late 19th c.) hilt similar to a kastane. I don't think it was made for a market sale, but for honest-to-goodness reuse as a weapon. The hilt could have been refitted in a Dutch trading post such as Shri Lanka, the Thai peninsula or perhaps an Indian port. Something about the dragon and the star-like guard makes me think Thai or surrounding area. Now, let me be shot down by others- Hammondtx, I really like this sword! I know you started out on the Ethnographic Forum and they send you here for the Dutch identification, but I think you still might later repost it there for their opinion of the hilt and where it might have been cast. Last edited by M ELEY; 20th June 2018 at 11:37 AM.