South asian Chinese ? Keren? knife

[Ren Ren]

Knives with a handle made of the antler of a deer muntjak are quite often found among the shamans of the mountain peoples of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. These are ritual objects with magical powers.

[Ian]

The handle shown by Ren Ren is a typical small deer hilt found on some "priest knives" and also some Cambodian knives. However, the local species is a small deer, and the antlers are short and thin. The substantial "crown stag" hilt on the original post is too large for local deer in SE Asia, which is why I think this one has been re-hilted elsewhere. As noted, the large heavy hilt on the original post has distorted the balance of the knife, and its size suggests it was made for a larger hand than found in native populations.

[Ren Ren]

Originally Posted by Ian

The substantial "crown stag" hilt on the original post is too large for local deer in SE Asia, which is why I think this one has been re-hilted elsewhere.

Quite right, Ian! I used this photo as an example of the difference between the species of deer antlers.