Sumatran Dagger: Lopah Petawaran

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

These blades tend to be a bit rough; this may be partly due to their ceremonial use and sometimes due to their age.....

Hello Kai,

I think as well that some in this thread showed examples have a very good age, one reason that nearly all show a lot of wear with missing parts.
But we don't know exactly all the ceremonial fields of application which can harm the blade!? Or do you know more?

Regards,
Detlef

[Battara]

I am aware that one use is to place it through the ear of carabao, so blood could be a factor. Another use is to bless newly wed couples with the blade scooping up some wet rice and throwing it on them, rice water possibly being another factor.

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

I think as well that some in this thread showed examples have a very good age, one reason that nearly all show a lot of wear with missing parts.
But we don't know exactly all the ceremonial fields of application which can harm the blade!?

Well, drawing blood and splashing about other aqueous fluids does not really help preservation of carbon steel. I'd suppose that these blades got cleaned after use and were generally well-maintained though - so, this might not be the main factor.

I believe that LPs got kept (in active use) for much longer periods than typical everyday user blades/tools (since the former were probably not expected to be used with overt force) and, moreover, these ceremonial blades might also have been kept after their long active duty period while working blades got worn down much faster and leftovers recycled for bladesmithing once not fit for their purpose anymore...

A few LP blades (some of the simpler ones without bolster) may also exhibit some forging imperfections or lesser original finish from manufacturing on a budget, I guess...

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Thank you both for clarification!