Some other miniature stuff

[knife7knut]

Thought the folks on the forum here might enjoy this piece.I bought it about 25 years ago at a flea market for about $3.Probably a tourist thing but it caught my eye and was an education in itself.The board is thin plywood(3/16ths of an inch(4.5mm) maybe)and the knife blades are crafted of aluminum(some have engraving on them)and the handles are wood as is the bow and arrows.The shield is aluminum.Under each knife is what it's name is.I had acquired some P.I. knives at the time and it helped me ID them.Enjoy.
Cheers
Ray

[Rick]

Hi Ray , these plaques have been manufactured since the early 20th c.
Here are some examples from a plaque made in 1910-20 or so .

[tom hyle]

Particularly nice ones, Rick. Thanks.

[knife7knut]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hi Ray , these plaques have been manufactured since the early 20th c.
Here are some examples from a plaque made in 1910-20 or so .

Rick:
Those pieces are exquisite!How big are they?Miniature pieces(knives especially)fascinate me.I have a small collection of miniature folding knives with pearl and tortiseshell scales that were manufactured in Germany around 1910 or so.One of the smallest is a two bladed jack that the small blade is but 1/2" long and these are fully functioning knives.I'm enclosing a couple of pictures;I hope they're not too far off topic.
Ray

[Michel]

Found these on a flea market, in a bunch, packaged in a tissue.
Had to refurbish a few handles and make a presentation board.
This is the result.
A few of the blade have a vague inscription, like Rick's ones.
If Rick's ones are from around 1910, I guess mine must be about the same age ?
Any help to name each weapon will be welcome. Thanks
Michel

[Rick]

Hi guys , my largest examples are 5.75" or so .
The handles are bone , the blades steel shaped on one side only .
I replaced the pommel ferrule on the bolo with a bit of silver ( it has tarnished in quite nicely).
The names on my examples are (from top to bottom)
Lug Log
Bolo
kiya
Naraui
Balacion

[nosmo king]

Hello all,Great "mini" stuff !!! I bought this shadow box display from a wwII vet stationed in the PI . It was made by the natives on Palawan to sell to the Japanese soldiers!!! Notice the painting of the Geisha!!! When we displaced the japanese,the US soldiers bought them up!!!Funny how fast one's customers can change Anyway,the quality of these knives is excellant!!! Looks and feels like high chromium steel.Where they got this material from on Palawan is a mystery to me. Any ideas?

[Andrew]

Predictably, these aren't PI stuff, but miniature dha. These have been a puzzle to me since I obtained them through a trade with another forum member some time ago.

Overall length approximately 7". Good blades, inlaid with silver koftgari work of high quality. Fittings high-content silver and copper twisted/braided wire work. Burmese.

Any thoughts?

[nosmo king]

Hello Andrew,Beautiful Dha!! These tiny works of art were status symbols of the wealthy Burmese.I guess they tried to outdo eachother in a way like the Russians did with their miniature firearms and edged weapons.In this case,smaller is better!!!I enclosed a few pics of a Dha in my collection.It is 6" long with a 3 1/2 " blade.Nicely forged blade(very sharp) and all high grade silver---Melted french coins probably!!! The workmanship is amazing considering how tiny this piece is.
Regards,Nosmo

[tom hyle]

I would not imagine these small dha cross in to the realm of true miniatures; they are smaller than knife dhas I've seen, but not tremendously so, and about the size of my puuko that I carve wood with; a pretty handy size for a knife. My rambling point is I think they're for fairly ordinary use/wear. Would women wear a dha? Probably not, but instead would wear some sort of woman's knife? Just a guess there; input? Nice li'l dhas.

[nosmo king]

Not much smaller!! Here's a better perspective:

[Andrew]

Great knives, Nosmo, thanks for sharing.

Tom, I don't disagree that most small dha are probably not "miniatures" in the same sense as the Filipino examples on this thread. However, most of the very small dha are probably a form of "prayer knife", particularly those from Thailand, where I understand it is common to have them blessed at Buddhist temples (Dan, are you out there to comment on this?). Some of those are quite small, and intended to be carried on or about the person. Nosmo's small knife may be of that type.

The two I posted are, I believe, truly miniatures. I showed them to Ian last year at Timonium, and we both speculated they were either a sort of "salesman" sample similar to the miniature safes carried by salesmen in the 19th and early 20th century, or perhaps (given the high level of workmanship), demonstration of the maker's skill.

[Montino Bourbon]

Here's a small Bugis keris that I found in a shop near here; it seems to have pamor wengkon. I would like to know if this is a 'patrem' or something else; any comments?

[tom hyle]

Yeah, Nosmo; I already knew that 3 was 1/2 of 6, but the picture clarifies a little, mainly about the smallness of the handle; more clarity would be to picture it next to a small adult human hand or a working puuko; this is a common using size of knife, in worldwide terms. That does not, of course, address itself to any particular cultural info. that may be available, but is, I think, an important point of division from what I'd call an actual miniature. Were it in the shape of a longsword that might make it a miniature at this size, or a knife version, much depending on the handle, I should think; this is not in the shape of a longsword though, but of a knife/dagger. There seems to be a longstanding tradition of miniature gunongs, BTW.

[JPSF]

Even kukris...one of many, but this is my favorite

[Conogre]

While it may not apply in this case, some of the weapons of this size, in several cultures, were used by women as personal protection weapons, some made to be concealed in feminine clothing and others made so that they could be displayed, jewelery-like.
I've heard it mentioned that some of these were intended to be used, but not as a "weapon" in the traditional sense, but rather on themselves if they were dishonored, particularly in some Muslim regions where it was expected of rape victims.
Mike

[tom hyle]

Ideally, not so much if they're dishonored as before they're dishonored or made to suffer, a concept, BTW, that's very common and often enough unquestioned in "Western" writing about European/Eurocolonial culture until sometime after the middle of the 20th century.

[knife7knut]

This knife I had submitted pictures of to Rich Stein.I had purchsed it quite a few years ago for a few dollars and thought at first it was a letter opener(which I was collecting at the time).
Upon closer examination,I realized that if it was a letteropener,it was a very well-made example.The handle is pinned to the blade with a tiny ivory pin(which is removeable but the blade won't release from the handle and I don't want to force it),the blade shows evidence of layering and is signed.
I was told it was a Kwaiken and a pretty nice example.I am enclosing a few pictures of it for your viewing.
Cheers
Ray

[tom hyle]

A miniature pikebreaking sword; dagger size, or maybe shortsword (yes, I do forget which ) looks like cast iron; closed ebay auction #7316213487.

[tom hyle]

Knife7knut. Not only grain, but I think I see either a hardening line or an inlaid edge (both are possible on Japanese work). This swelltipped sheath is AFAIK derived of naginata sheaths. The handle mirrors it to some degree. What of the inlays? MOP for the round ones? The stripes? Aluminum? I've had a nice old Japanese letter opener shaped like a dagger, and it was traditionally shaped, and seemed to show some grain on the tang, but was not hardened steel. From Japan, as from many countries, of course, BTW, letter openers would be largely for native use, and though not true weapons, also are not neccessarily tourist pieces though that's a common lumping. Traditionally literate nations......

[Naga Sasra]

Quite an interesting thread, I wanted to just add a small representation from Malaysia and Indonesia, together with a few other areas that I have picked up over the years, most of them were made as pins while others was letter openers.

[knife7knut]

Originally Posted by tom hyle

Knife7knut. Not only grain, but I think I see either a hardening line or an inlaid edge (both are possible on Japanese work). This swelltipped sheath is AFAIK derived of naginata sheaths. The handle mirrors it to some degree. What of the inlays? MOP for the round ones? The stripes? Aluminum? I've had a nice old Japanese letter opener shaped like a dagger, and it was traditionally shaped, and seemed to show some grain on the tang, but was not hardened steel. From Japan, as from many countries, of course, BTW, letter openers would be largely for native use, and though not true weapons, also are not neccessarily tourist pieces though that's a common lumping. Traditionally literate nations......

The dot inlays appear to be made of lead or some other relatively soft metal.You can score it with your fingernail.The light colored rings appear to be ivory(under a glass a definite,"layering"is observed)and between them are what appears to be a black polished horn.I at first thought it was synthetic,but upon rubbing it briskly,it gave off no tell-tale odor.
At first I could not discern a grain,but when using a more powerful glass detected a vertical grain(when looking at the ends that abut each other)and a grain parallel to the horizontal axis of the knife.Unusual in that although the grain is present there is virtually no color differentiation that I can see.
The tiny pin and the bushing where preumably a tie went through is made of ivory also. Thanks for your input.
Ray

[archer]

I too seem to lean toward smaller knives and Ebay has helped my
addiction. All of these items are probably smaller than their normal counterparts.

Archer