Heiho that's been around

[Pitt1999]

I have been looking for one of these weapons for a long time, they don't seem to come up for sale very often. This example exhibits some further modification beyond how the Japanese modified the original klewangs these were made from. The sheath also has locations carved into the leather that hopefully were not added later in an attempt to increase it's value.

From the provided pictures it seems as if the blade was shortened about an inch and a half assuming the blade was originally shortened to closely fit the sheath, and was given a clip point. Funnily enough this modification makes this piece more closely resemble the original full length klewang. I assume this was done by the same serviceman that carved the sheath which on one side is inscribed with "Guadalcanal" and on the opposite side "Bouganville ///////// Fiji". I guess the fellow that carried this wasn't aware of how "Bougainville" was actually spelled.

I can't make out a maker's mark in any of the photos so I cannot say if the original sword was a Dutch made or American made example. The grip scales appear to be the black composite type which I have most commonly seen on the American made klewangs.