Unique Twistcore Knife From Southern Thailand

CharlesS · 22nd January 2020, 07:32 PM

Here is a unique knife form southern Thailand, likely Pattani, that features an attractive twistcore blade. The hilt is from Asian water buffalo and carved in the form of a stylized naga head. The scabbard is likely not the one "born with" it, but is a decent fit.

You can see the blade has a number of forging flaws and some very mild pitting, but I think it is still quite impressive.

A similar example was sold in a Hermann's Historica Auction last year, and yet another similar example showed up on FaceBook's Ethnographic Weapons and Primitive Currencies page. Neither of those had twistcore blades.

Dimensions:
Overall length: 15.75in.
Blade length: 10 in.
Blade's widest point: 1.5in.

kai · 22nd January 2020, 10:37 PM

That's a really neat blade, Charles! I believe this is a badek.

Here's another recent thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25543 (different blade though)

Regards,
Kai

Battara · 23rd January 2020, 01:46 AM

I like this pattern! Good for you!

CharlesS · 24th January 2020, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

That's a really neat blade, Charles! I believe this is a badek.
Regards,
Kai

Kai,

I can see why this piece would conjure up similarities to the Indonesian badek/badik, but I believe in both the Indonesian context(because it doesn't fully fit the profile) and the Thai context, badek would not be the correct name for it.

Perhaps some of our SE Asian experts have a name that would be more appropriate to the region.

kai · 24th January 2020, 01:29 AM

Hello Charles,

Sorry for being a bit unclear - I wasn't referring to the well-known Sulawesi dagger that pretty much got distributed all over the archipelago.

This type of blade (actually more akin to a sewar) is called badek by northern Malays (including those nowadays under Thai jurisdiction).

Regards,
Kai

Sajen · 26th January 2020, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

This type of blade (actually more akin to a sewar) is called badek by northern Malays (including those nowadays under Thai jurisdiction).

Agree.

You can call it also enep.

Regards,
Detlef

22nd January 2020, 07:32 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,857	Unique Twistcore Knife From Southern Thailand Here is a unique knife form southern Thailand, likely Pattani, that features an attractive twistcore blade. The hilt is from Asian water buffalo and carved in the form of a stylized naga head. The scabbard is likely not the one "born with" it, but is a decent fit. You can see the blade has a number of forging flaws and some very mild pitting, but I think it is still quite impressive. A similar example was sold in a Hermann's Historica Auction last year, and yet another similar example showed up on FaceBook's Ethnographic Weapons and Primitive Currencies page. Neither of those had twistcore blades. Dimensions: Overall length: 15.75in. Blade length: 10 in. Blade's widest point: 1.5in. Attached Images

22nd January 2020, 10:37 PM	#2
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	That's a really neat blade, Charles! I believe this is a badek. Here's another recent thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25543 (different blade though) Regards, Kai

23rd January 2020, 01:46 AM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,220	I like this pattern! Good for you!

24th January 2020, 01:29 AM	#5
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	Hello Charles, Sorry for being a bit unclear - I wasn't referring to the well-known Sulawesi dagger that pretty much got distributed all over the archipelago. This type of blade (actually more akin to a sewar) is called badek by northern Malays (including those nowadays under Thai jurisdiction). Regards, Kai