A Unique Silver Mounted Parang

[CharlesS]

This parang needed a lot of clean up to make it as "blingy" as it certainly originally was. The silver work is not particularly impressive, especially on the hilt. The silver is an alloy with somewhat strong silver content. The blade and its pamor are quite attractive.

I can't help but wonder here if the blade is an older remount to later silver fittings.


Does anyone have an idea of the age of the piece as it is now?


Dimensions:
Overall length: 27.5in.
Blade length: 22in.
Blade width at the center of the blade: 1.25in.

[A. G. Maisey]

Charles, I would suggest that testing of these mounts might result in them being found to be brass that has been silver plated.

To test with certainty it is necessary to get into the base metal, this requires scraping, something most people will not do on an external surface, so you need to get to an inside surface, which for a person not familiar with construction methods used with these swords, can be a little daunting. Silver test fluid can be bought from a jewelers supply house.

The blade is certainly old, probably pre-dating 1850.

These old swords are almost never found in anything approaching the mounts that they were originally fitted with. The really old mounts were usually wood or horn. Scabbards were wood. Unlike keris, swords were used in battlefield combat, so scabbards were thrown away, not carried in combat.

The metal mounts that these swords are usually found with now mostly date from around 1850 to the present.

[Athanase]

Can you do a close up of the scabbard please?
In the overall picture I have the impression that the quality of the work of the sleeve is different from that of the handle.

[Battara]

With the exception of the yellow light, the hugh does look like silver to me, but Alan is right that to be sure, get it tested.

[A. G. Maisey]

I do my own testing of silver: a bottle of silver test fluid lasts for years, the process is simple, you just put a drop onto a clean surface, if it turns red its silver, the speed of colour change and depth of colour give an indication of level of purity. The stuff is cheap.

The big problem is getting into the core material. With a pendok or scabbard cover that can be removed you can scratch down on the inside surface to core material with a little scraper, but who wants to do that scratching on a visible and finished surface?

Not me, that's for sure.

So then you need to either find a place where the scratching will not be seen, or disassemble the sword or scabbard, and if you do not know exactly how these were put together in the first place, this can be a real trap for young players.

Good silver plating will test as silver --- but it is not. The difference between the value of silver and the value of silver plate very big, it is not just material value, silver work costs multiples of work in brass.

[mariusgmioc]

Whether silver or brass, this is definitely a beautiful sword that I wouldn't scratch only in order to test it for silver.

I am pretty sure it is silver (most likely in an alloy with copper), but if it is only silver plated, you should be able to find proof by simply carefully examining the sword with a magnifying glass. Just look for already existing scratches or places where the metal is worn out, and if it is only plated, you'll easily discern the yellowish hue of the base metal.

PS: Silver is usually found in different alloys with copper and tin and depending on the composition of the alloy, it can be white or yellowish, with strong shine or somehow duller.

[Kubur]

Hi
i think it's just tombak, tembaga
but the sword is beautiful!

[asomotif]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

, but who wants to do that scratching on a visible and finished surface?

I would gladly scratch this hilt down to the core... (oops, I said it )
It is plain ugly and and no match with the blade or scabbard.

The scabbard is of a later date than the blade.
But the hilt must surely be a later addition again.

Best regards,
Willem

[A. G. Maisey]

Yep.