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#1 | |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
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If I recall correctly, I bought this spear head at a local flea market several years ago. The old tag reads:
Quote:
I had always thought the twisted 'baling' wire to which the tag is tied was a later addition, but learned that I was wrong with that assumption the Brimfield flea market this past Spring... |
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#2 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 3,191
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Lee
The wire bailing helped anchor the blade to the shaft. I had one of these years ago and mine had a rattan binding from the blade to pole. You also see the same technique used on Moro kris. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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What a nice piece - maybe not twistcore, but looks laminated and definitely a good budiak spearhead.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Thank you both!
I arrived at the Spring Brimfield market on the Tuesday and in the morning I saw someone walking away along the highway with a sheathed spear at a distance. I had been lucky in getting that long yari the preceding year and I know I cannot even frequently be the first to find these fresh-to-market treasures. It is so nice when it happens though. But my luck had not soured, as the next morning I found this same spear was now among some other nice ethnographic items for sale in another spot in a newly opened field. Even better, the gentleman selling it had bought it "right" and was passing it along with only a nominal markup. As you shall see below, it is another budiak, slightly larger, and with the substantial benefit of retaining not only an interestingly carved old pole but even retaining a scabbard for the blade. As with your observation Lew, the purpose of the wire becomes clear on this example. Battara, this one also shows no signs of a twist core and is also a well-made hand-forged piece. I suspect that it is probably of the same era as the spear above. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The Netherlands
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Nice pieces Lee!
Thank you for sharing these budiaks! I had never seen a budiak with this kind of "baling" wire. Maurice |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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Congrats Lee. Nice pieces. Is the other budiak with a complete shaft?
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#7 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 910
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![]() I will get a full length picture taken and posted as the pole itself is also interesting. Quote:
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#8 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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Actually I have seen these wire sections done more in woven or twisted brass in the past.
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#9 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 3,191
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Here you go Lee
This was in my collection a few years back. ![]() |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Very nice, Lew. Perhaps the concentric groves on some sockets may reflect this practice. I'll have to keep my eyes out for an example with woven/twisted brass...
Below is an overall picture and a close up of the shaft. At regular intervals, the circumference is reduced and then allowed to slowly expand moving towards the base. This would seem to be helpful from keeping the spear from sliding back on a thrust. |
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#11 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Singapore
Posts: 75
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A spear meant for thrusting... a tombak is distinctive in that the stem is does not feature this design... the spear heads are broader too.. Very nice Budiaks... |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Actually many of these budiaks were more for thrusting in hand to hand combat. I'm sure they could be thrown too.
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#13 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Singapore
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Thrusting spears are also usually build with a counterweight at the other end. it is very unlikely that a counterweighted thrusting spear could be thrown well or at all. The counterweight just upsets the whole balance of it. The flight of the thrown spear and penetration would be greatly affected by the counterweight. |
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#14 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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Hi BigG,
You do have a point (great pun ![]() |
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#15 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Singapore
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Nice budiaks & love to get one in the future.. |
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#16 |
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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The budiak that retains its pole weighs just under 1.1 kg (2.4 lbs) and in the hand, the weight feels very much up towards the spearhead. So, it would indeed be most throw-able, but that bit of baling wire suggests to me an intended use as a lance, as a user throwing it at an adversary who could throw it back should prefer it come apart after his (first) toss. Krieger mentions that some warriors would carry two spears - one to throw and the other for final hand-to-hand; he also suggests arms for the hunt were usually simple in embellishment compared with weapons for combat and ceremony.
I had left the budiak-head with the tag on a shelf, rather than properly putting it away. From this angle I then saw the tang in a different light and it suddenly struck me that the tang was corroded much like the tang of a Japanese sword. The tag tells us that it was without a pole in 1907 and the exposed, polished surface has remained in good condition in the century since it was presented. So that brings up the question of just how old are these spearheads of this design... |
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