Hembrug Klewang - original or a good fake?

Jussi M. · 18th June 2009, 01:58 PM

Greetings,

so gentleman, what do you think of this piece?

Rick · 18th June 2009, 02:14 PM

I guess my first question would be ; are these currently valuable enough to make them worth faking ?

Refurbished blade ??

kronckew · 18th June 2009, 02:45 PM

scabbard looks a bit odd compared to mine.

note the sheet brass tip and the brass staples that hold it on, and the black steel throat piece wrapped partially around the throat and double riveted both sides. on mine the leather seam is sewn along the spine rather than the rear flat. note also the button-holed strap for attaching to the belt frog (sadly missing). could yours be a replacement? mine does not have any unit markings or issue/serial numbers. it does have a small (proof?) stamp on the right side similar to yours, and the mfg. stamp opposite on the left side of the ricasso.

'cold steel' made a recent copy of the milsco version that the USN used, as well as a longer 'sabre' variant of the same basic design: CS called it the '1917 cutlass'

note the slight difference in the scabbard tip and the single riveted brass throat piece. also note the slotted grip rivets (or screws).

while i would not try this with my original, the CS copy in the following video shows it's designs cutting effectiveness.

Youtube video CS 1917 Cutlass

trenchwarfare · 18th June 2009, 04:06 PM

Jussi, your Klewang looks great to me. Excellent piece. No fakes that I know of, other than the one previously mentioned. Your scabbard is an earlier version, that had the steel tip, inside the leather, with only the ball finial showing. Looks like the leather was pealing back, and the soldier had a local repair it with brass wire. Or repaired it himself. Or, the last owner was a local, or...

Jussi M. · 18th June 2009, 05:57 PM

Hello,

thanks for the comments so far. This weapon aint actually mine but one that has raised my curiosity.

J

Jim McDougall · 18th June 2009, 06:48 PM

Fakes dont usually carry issuance or arsenal type stamps.

David · 18th June 2009, 07:01 PM

Well the thing looks freakin' new, but the hilt also shows patina and age. Maybe a piece that saw little or no use and/or was extremely well cared for.

Henk · 18th June 2009, 09:32 PM

I would say an original klewang in good condition.

This is a klewang No.1 Police. Identical to the Dutch Army klewang M.1912. The RVW stamp stands for the Dutch name of this police force, the Rijks Veldwacht.

The scabbard of the M.1912 has a terminal button with a number of turns of 0,8 mm thick copper wire around the neck of the button. The number of turns is given as 12 in the original drawings of the scabbardtype.

This scabbard has more turns. Mostly the turns are 9 to 12 turns around the button. Looking at your pictures this amount of windings looks like a repair, but done with the original copper wire.

broadaxe · 20th June 2009, 11:42 PM

I've seen & handled at least one fake US cutlass, made from an "aged" Cold steel replica.
One major difference: the current made saber lacks a distal taper, hence is heavier and ill-balanced, comparing to both originals, US & Dutch.

18th June 2009, 01:58 PM	#1
Jussi M. Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 235	Hembrug Klewang - original or a good fake? Greetings, so gentleman, what do you think of this piece?

18th June 2009, 02:45 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,182	scabbard looks a bit odd compared to mine. note the sheet brass tip and the brass staples that hold it on, and the black steel throat piece wrapped partially around the throat and double riveted both sides. on mine the leather seam is sewn along the spine rather than the rear flat. note also the button-holed strap for attaching to the belt frog (sadly missing). could yours be a replacement? mine does not have any unit markings or issue/serial numbers. it does have a small (proof?) stamp on the right side similar to yours, and the mfg. stamp opposite on the left side of the ricasso. 'cold steel' made a recent copy of the milsco version that the USN used, as well as a longer 'sabre' variant of the same basic design: CS called it the '1917 cutlass' note the slight difference in the scabbard tip and the single riveted brass throat piece. also note the slotted grip rivets (or screws). while i would not try this with my original, the CS copy in the following video shows it's designs cutting effectiveness. Youtube video CS 1917 Cutlass Last edited by kronckew; 18th June 2009 at 03:38 PM.

18th June 2009, 02:14 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,291	I guess my first question would be ; are these currently valuable enough to make them worth faking ? Refurbished blade ??

18th June 2009, 04:06 PM	#4
trenchwarfare Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 385	Jussi, your Klewang looks great to me. Excellent piece. No fakes that I know of, other than the one previously mentioned. Your scabbard is an earlier version, that had the steel tip, inside the leather, with only the ball finial showing. Looks like the leather was pealing back, and the soldier had a local repair it with brass wire. Or repaired it himself. Or, the last owner was a local, or...

18th June 2009, 05:57 PM	#5
Jussi M. Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 235	Hello, thanks for the comments so far. This weapon aint actually mine but one that has raised my curiosity. J

18th June 2009, 06:48 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,943	Fakes dont usually carry issuance or arsenal type stamps.

18th June 2009, 07:01 PM	#7
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,121	Well the thing looks freakin' new, but the hilt also shows patina and age. Maybe a piece that saw little or no use and/or was extremely well cared for.

18th June 2009, 09:32 PM	#8
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	I would say an original klewang in good condition. This is a klewang No.1 Police. Identical to the Dutch Army klewang M.1912. The RVW stamp stands for the Dutch name of this police force, the Rijks Veldwacht. The scabbard of the M.1912 has a terminal button with a number of turns of 0,8 mm thick copper wire around the neck of the button. The number of turns is given as 12 in the original drawings of the scabbardtype. This scabbard has more turns. Mostly the turns are 9 to 12 turns around the button. Looking at your pictures this amount of windings looks like a repair, but done with the original copper wire.

20th June 2009, 11:42 PM	#9
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 332	I've seen & handled at least one fake US cutlass, made from an "aged" Cold steel replica. One major difference: the current made saber lacks a distal taper, hence is heavier and ill-balanced, comparing to both originals, US & Dutch.