Pakayun

T. Koch · 21st January 2013, 07:26 PM

Hi guys,

I'd like to share one of my new favorites with you: A pakayun saber from the Murut people of North Borneo.

The blade is 78,5 cm along the edge and 97 cm including the hilt. Hilt is carved wood, with a brass collar of the long type and a guard of the circular form. Above the guard is a wrap of plaided rattan, bordered by three braided rattan rings, of which one, as you can see, is unfortunately missing. Interestingly, only the side of the hilt facing outwards when worn, is carved – the inner side is left plain and smooth.

Also curious is the fact that the hilt doesn't have the two pegs typical of most pakayuns, but is instead drilled and fitted with tufts of human hair where the pegs usually are. Human hair is often found mounted on the scabbards of pakayuns, but it is the first time that I see it on a hilt like this. When i picked it up, I thought for sure, that the hair was a later addition, but after cleaning, I can see no traces of there ever being any pegs and I am now more inclined to believe that the sword was indeed born this way.

The blade shape is of the type with a marked shoulder as well as a progressing flare towards the distal end, as opposed to the type where the edge and spine runs parallel throughout the length of the edge. As you can see the tip ends quite abruptly. The steel is piled in laminations of a rather rough manufacture and the blade is very meaty: The spine thickness at the guard is 12 mm, gradually slimming down to 2,5 mm at the point where the spine slants down towards the tip. This is certainly a very different beast from the other native Borneo swords. Where the forward-weighted parangs are more chopping-type weapons, the pakayun is clearly built for long slashing strokes and in hand it indeed feels like a formidable weapon! I would love to have seen live Muruts in action and their handling techniques with one of these.

The condition you now see it in is post-cleaning and post etching. It was a bit of a mess when I received it and I will describe the process in a post somewhere down below. I found it in a small shop dealing mostly with European naval weapons, so everything was polished to a high shine – blade included. I like it much better now.

It did come with a sheath, or at least the remains of one, but it is almost obliterated at this point and merely of academical interest. I will also post the sheath below, once I have taken some pictures of it.

Cheers guys and hope you like it, - Thor

Carved outside of the hilt

Uncarved inside of hilt - note blade shoulder

Two-tone rattan plaiding

Laminated blade - note forging flaw in the blurry background

Laminated blade - here you can see the dark 'hamon' running along the edge

Whole blade from the tip end (sorry about the blur - the day ran out of light)

21st January 2013, 07:26 PM	#1
T. Koch Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Mother North Posts: 189	Pakayun Hi guys, I'd like to share one of my new favorites with you: A pakayun saber from the Murut people of North Borneo. The blade is 78,5 cm along the edge and 97 cm including the hilt. Hilt is carved wood, with a brass collar of the long type and a guard of the circular form. Above the guard is a wrap of plaided rattan, bordered by three braided rattan rings, of which one, as you can see, is unfortunately missing. Interestingly, only the side of the hilt facing outwards when worn, is carved – the inner side is left plain and smooth. Also curious is the fact that the hilt doesn't have the two pegs typical of most pakayuns, but is instead drilled and fitted with tufts of human hair where the pegs usually are. Human hair is often found mounted on the scabbards of pakayuns, but it is the first time that I see it on a hilt like this. When i picked it up, I thought for sure, that the hair was a later addition, but after cleaning, I can see no traces of there ever being any pegs and I am now more inclined to believe that the sword was indeed born this way. The blade shape is of the type with a marked shoulder as well as a progressing flare towards the distal end, as opposed to the type where the edge and spine runs parallel throughout the length of the edge. As you can see the tip ends quite abruptly. The steel is piled in laminations of a rather rough manufacture and the blade is very meaty: The spine thickness at the guard is 12 mm, gradually slimming down to 2,5 mm at the point where the spine slants down towards the tip. This is certainly a very different beast from the other native Borneo swords. Where the forward-weighted parangs are more chopping-type weapons, the pakayun is clearly built for long slashing strokes and in hand it indeed feels like a formidable weapon! I would love to have seen live Muruts in action and their handling techniques with one of these. The condition you now see it in is post-cleaning and post etching. It was a bit of a mess when I received it and I will describe the process in a post somewhere down below. I found it in a small shop dealing mostly with European naval weapons, so everything was polished to a high shine – blade included. I like it much better now. It did come with a sheath, or at least the remains of one, but it is almost obliterated at this point and merely of academical interest. I will also post the sheath below, once I have taken some pictures of it. Cheers guys and hope you like it, - Thor Carved outside of the hilt Uncarved inside of hilt - note blade shoulder Two-tone rattan plaiding Laminated blade - note forging flaw in the blurry background Laminated blade - here you can see the dark 'hamon' running along the edge Whole blade from the tip end (sorry about the blur - the day ran out of light)