19th Century Fijian Gafa War Club
 

Just picked this up today. Seems old and with original biding that needs to be rewrapped. Comments welcome.

Very cool piece Lew... How tall/long is it?

About 29-30 inches. Check this out on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpbwbQrULoU

Great! I was after one but my car decided to play up and the bitch took all my spare money. :eek:

In the photo are those throwing clubs thrust through the man's belt? Daggers? Or what?

Hi all

The club arrived today the good news is that it is authentic the bad news is that some fool tried to adhere the wrapping with super glue :p :mad:. I had to sand down the handle and it remove most of the color so I now need to stain the wood and hope it will look ok. Sometimes you win and well you know. :(

Hi Tom,

I see three ula throwing clubs - two with the more elaborate spherically-scalloped heads (that kind of resemble onions), and the one he holds in his hand that appears to be plain. Are those the items you are speaking of? If so, then they are clubs...



Lew - for our collective experience, if having to repeat the process (of sanding off the chord wrap and glue), would you have done so? Or would you have left it as-is? :shrug:

Yes would do it again. I will need to match the stain as best as possible and soak it in linseed oil. The wrap was very brittle and was falling apart when touched.

Looking forwards to seeing the results Lew.

When you put the linseed oil on, let it soak in until just before it get's tacky, then wipe the excess off. That way it won't be too shiny. Be sure to take the rag outside if it has much linseed oil on it, as it can combust spontaneously. :eek:

Steve

Hello Lew, Heating the linseed oil in a double boiler before applying it will help in how fast as well as how much will be absorbed by the wood. Looking forward to seeing this as soon as you have worked your magic on it.

Robert