Is this a Tombak?

blue lander · 1st July 2015, 05:23 PM

I don't think it is, it's missing that ring near tang and the tang is rectangular rather than circular. I don't know what else you'd call it, though. The seller said both sides of the blade are sharp.

David · 1st July 2015, 06:08 PM

I agree, not a tombak.

blue lander · 1st July 2015, 06:19 PM

I thought it might be a snapped off tip of a keris but that wouldn't explain the tang. The seller said he bought it from a keris dealer.

Sajen · 1st July 2015, 09:19 PM

Hello Blue,

not a tombak, agree with David. Maybe just a knife without special name. Call it pisou (knife)!

blue lander · 1st July 2015, 09:48 PM

Kronckew mention the hilt/scabbard looks like a looks like a tumbuk lada

Sajen · 1st July 2015, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue lander

Kronckew mention the hilt/scabbard looks like a looks like a tumbuk lada

Not really. You can find similar scabbard styles by many Indonesian blades, badik, golok and so on.

kronckew · 1st July 2015, 11:54 PM

'tombak lada' means pepper crusher which is the hilt style rather than the more generic scabbard.. the hilt is quite like that. the blade is not typical, being double edged & looks like it was cut from some other blade, maybe a keris.

i'd compared it to another online example:

Sajen · 2nd July 2015, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

tombak lada means pepper crusher. the hilt is quite like that.

i'd compared it to another online example:

Hello Wayne,

what you show seems to my eyes a cheaply made tourist knife.

Here some examples of real/antique tumbok ladas. Pepper crusher is correct.

Rick · 2nd July 2015, 12:12 AM

A Shank with pamor .
It was made for only one purpose .

kronckew · 2nd July 2015, 12:14 AM

i just picked one off google that was close to the originally posted one by blue lander, not as a typical tumbuk lada, but one that may have been a marriage of convenience.

Sajen · 2nd July 2015, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

i just picked one off google that was close to the originally posted one by blue lander, not as a typical tumbuk lada, but one that may have been a marriage of convenience.

Don't want to attack you Wayne!

But the shown knife from Blue is for sure not a tumbok lade, like said I would just call it piso/pisou.

Regards,
Detlef

blue lander · 2nd July 2015, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

A Shank with pamor .
It was made for only one purpose .

Could you really shank someone with a hilt like that though? It doesn't look very comfortable . I guess I'll find out when it arrives.

A. G. Maisey · 2nd July 2015, 01:44 AM

We become accustomed to seeing all these examples of archetypical SE Asian weaponry --- keris, tombak, pedang & etc,& etc, &etc., but we very rarely see the weapons that ordinary people carry.

Mostly the weapons of ordinary people in Jawa and Bali are small, tuck-away knives and daggers that have no specific form or features, and are made from left over bits and pieces or broken other weapons.

Dealers in both East Jawa and Central Jawa will buy an old junk pedang, cut it into sections and grind 4 or 5 little dagger blades out of it, then they'll fit it with the cheapest possible dress. More profit in this than in trying to sell a clapped out old pedang.

What we are looking at here is one of these little daggers. It was cut from a larger blade, and it has been dressed at a level where a local can buy it and stick it in the back waist band of his trousers. If he needs to dump it, he's lost nothing.

I consider this nasty little thing a genuine, present day SE Asian weapon.

blue lander · 2nd July 2015, 04:20 AM

That makes sense. The blade in this is double edged, aren't pedants usually single edged? Maybe it's from a junk keris

A. G. Maisey · 2nd July 2015, 04:39 AM

Could be from any tosan aji --- keris, pedang, tombak --- the shape that is created does not necessarily bear any relationship at all to the original blade.

Rick · 2nd July 2015, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue lander

Could you really shank someone with a hilt like that though? It doesn't look very comfortable . I guess I'll find out when it arrives.

A five inch blade ?
Right in your palm ?

Okay, it's a Javanese shank .

1st July 2015, 05:23 PM	#1
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	Is this a Tombak? I don't think it is, it's missing that ring near tang and the tang is rectangular rather than circular. I don't know what else you'd call it, though. The seller said both sides of the blade are sharp. Attached Images

1st July 2015, 11:54 PM	#7
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,186	'tombak lada' means pepper crusher which is the hilt style rather than the more generic scabbard.. the hilt is quite like that. the blade is not typical, being double edged & looks like it was cut from some other blade, maybe a keris. i'd compared it to another online example: Last edited by kronckew; 2nd July 2015 at 12:09 AM.

2nd July 2015, 12:12 AM	#9
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	A Shank with pamor . It was made for only one purpose . Last edited by Rick; 2nd July 2015 at 12:27 AM.

1st July 2015, 06:08 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	I agree, not a tombak.

1st July 2015, 06:19 PM	#3
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I thought it might be a snapped off tip of a keris but that wouldn't explain the tang. The seller said he bought it from a keris dealer.

1st July 2015, 09:19 PM	#4
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,788	Hello Blue, not a tombak, agree with David. Maybe just a knife without special name. Call it pisou (knife)!

1st July 2015, 09:48 PM	#5
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	Kronckew mention the hilt/scabbard looks like a looks like a tumbuk lada

2nd July 2015, 12:14 AM	#10
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,186	i just picked one off google that was close to the originally posted one by blue lander, not as a typical tumbuk lada, but one that may have been a marriage of convenience.

2nd July 2015, 01:44 AM	#13
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,897	We become accustomed to seeing all these examples of archetypical SE Asian weaponry --- keris, tombak, pedang & etc,& etc, &etc., but we very rarely see the weapons that ordinary people carry. Mostly the weapons of ordinary people in Jawa and Bali are small, tuck-away knives and daggers that have no specific form or features, and are made from left over bits and pieces or broken other weapons. Dealers in both East Jawa and Central Jawa will buy an old junk pedang, cut it into sections and grind 4 or 5 little dagger blades out of it, then they'll fit it with the cheapest possible dress. More profit in this than in trying to sell a clapped out old pedang. What we are looking at here is one of these little daggers. It was cut from a larger blade, and it has been dressed at a level where a local can buy it and stick it in the back waist band of his trousers. If he needs to dump it, he's lost nothing. I consider this nasty little thing a genuine, present day SE Asian weapon.

2nd July 2015, 04:20 AM	#14
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	That makes sense. The blade in this is double edged, aren't pedants usually single edged? Maybe it's from a junk keris

2nd July 2015, 04:39 AM	#15
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,897	Could be from any tosan aji --- keris, pedang, tombak --- the shape that is created does not necessarily bear any relationship at all to the original blade.