klewang golok ??????????????

[semar]

hello ho can tell me more about this blade ware its come from and what type of blade it is

Thank you Semar

[Gavin Nugent]

Have you bought it?

It looks by blade type to be a Pedang from Sumatra. The hilt type however doesn't ring any bells without hitting the books...

[semar]

yes long time ago but i never found out the type and the orgin of this blad i look in the book from zonneveld but its not in there

regards semar

[Sajen]

Hello Semar,

I don't remember to have seen something similar. But I like it!

Regards,
Detlef

[semar]

thank you Detlef

[Ian]

Hello Semar:

Thank you for posting this interesting and challenging example.

i have not seen one exactly similar to this, but it seems to be either Indonesian or perhaps from the Philippines.

The D-guard is reminiscent of the Malay parang nabur and of the southern Luzon minasbad, but is clearly different from those two in several respects--most notably the triangular, fan-shaped pommel.

In imagining the hilt without the D-guard it reminds me somewhat of the Timor hilts, types a and b, that appear in Albert van Zonneveld's book Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago (pp 137-138). In particular, the triangular pommel and an "eye" or "rosette" are present on your sword. The Timor hilts (as are those on the minasbad) are made from carabao horn, and yours appears to be made of horn also.

On none of the swords I have mentioned have I seen, either personally or in pictures, a fluted grip as shown on yours. Also, the blade type is inconsistent with a parang nabur although maybe a possibility for a minasbad, while Timor swords have a variety of blades, including parang, pedang, and klewang styles.

If pushed to make some estimation of where this is from, I would say it is either an adaptation of the hilt seen on Timor swords or an indigenous sword from the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, of a type not present in van Zonneveld's book.

Perhaps our Belgium-Dutch-German forumites have more information on this one.

Ian.

[semar]

thank you Ian for your commend

regards semar

[Ian]

Semar, could you post more detailed pictures of the hilt, especially where the knuckle bow meets the pommel. Look almost as though there is a discontinuity there.

Ian.

[Robert]

Ian, I just happened to be looking at that area myself and modified a photo to get a better look. It looks as though the guard has broken loose from the pommel.

Best,
Robert

[Ian]

Robert and Semar:

If you mentally ignore the knuckle bow and look at the pommel after rotating the hilt, I think I see a bird's head--with the eye, crest and beak--and a long neck.

Ian.

P.S. What do you guys make of the small amount of file work at forte? Looks a little like some of the minasbad swords we have seen here. Not really like the Borneo fancy work on parang.

[Andrew]

Looks like the knuckle-bow is metal and the carved pommel is wood.

[Robert]

Ian, I see what you are referring to. The hilt carving does seem to look somewhat like the head of a crested bird of some type, possibly a rooster. As for the file work, even though it is in the same area as what is sometimes found on a minisbad it is not quite the same pattern as any that I have seen so far.

Best,
Robert

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

P.S. What do you guys make of the small amount of file work at forte? Looks a little like some of the minasbad swords we have seen here. Not really like the Borneo fancy work on parang.

Exactly my thoughts as well but the blade shape is nothing whats remember to Bicol swords.

Detlef