Weird sword for comments, pls.

[Rick]

What about the three bars at the forte ?
Moro influenced mid Philippine Archipelago, N. Mindanao ??

Anyone ?

Not really getting a Sumatran gestalt here .

[VANDOO]

MY BEST GUESS IS STILL PHILIPPINE POST WW2.
BUT WITHOUT MORE INFORMATION ON THE ITEM SIZE, MONO STEEL OR FOLDED, DOES THE HANDLE HAVE A PIN THRU THE TANG, IS THERE A REAL PATINA ON THE HANDLE OR HAS IT BEEN SINGED IN A FIRE?
I THINK IT WAS INSPIRED BY LOOKING AT SWORDS ON A MORO WEAPONS PLACK AND PERHAPS THE MAKER FELT THE SIMI KRIS CARVEING MIGHT LOOK NEAT?. THE WORK APPEARS TO BE CRUDE AND I AM GUESSING MONO STEEL PERHAPS A TRUCK OR JEEP SPRING
IT COULD BE MORE RECENT MANUFACTURE IN INDONESIA BUT MOST OF THOSE I HAVE SEEN IN BALI HAVE BEEN FAIRLY GOOD COPIES OF TRADITIONAL FORMS.
I HAVE SEEN MORE STRANGE CRUDLEY MADE AS WELL AS WELL MADE FORMS RESEMBELING THIS ONE ORIGINATING IN THE PHILIPPINES OVER THE YEARS. AND THE CLOSEST I HAVE SEEN TO IT HAS BEEN ON MORO PLACKS. PERHAPS THE POSTER CAN GIVE US A BIT MORE INFO ON THE ITEM?.

[Maurice]

I happen to pick up one yesterday.
This one has a horn handle, decorations of the spine of the blade. Blade is 6 mm thick at the base.

[VVV]

Nice one Maurice, I haven't seen it with a guard before.
Here is mine which resembles the one Miguel posted.
I have had it for several years but still not been able to figure
out from where it is.
I agree that it looks Filipino in several ways but the elephant trunk
makes me suspect it to be Sumatran. But then the rest of the blade form
is maybe more like the North Peninsular Malay klewang?
The hilt, without the rest of the blade features, could be Moluccan.
My guess is still Sumatra or Malaysia but I do hope somebody solves
this riddle.

Michael

PS A hint? I found mine in Holland. I assume Maurice did too? And where was the one Miguel posted found?

[Maurice]

Hi Michael,

I (and others) was hoping for you to bump in.
Mine is collected in my neighbourhood indeed. The collector I got it from told me it was coming from Java.
My first intuition was malaysia, but that was just my intuition, based on the feeling I had about it.

About the hilt looking like moluccan style, I had the same feeling about. It reminded me immediately on the one Roy(ston) depicted a while ago in a thread.

I hope to figure it out, cause I don't think they are souvenirs.

Maurice

Originally Posted by VVV

Nice one Maurice, I haven't seen it with a guard before.
Here is mine which resembles the one Miguel posted.
I have had it for several years but still not been able to figure
out from where it is.
I agree that it looks Filipino in several ways but the elephant trunk
makes me suspect it to be Sumatran. But then the rest of the blade form
is maybe more like the North Peninsular Malay klewang?
The hilt, without the rest of the blade features, could be Moluccan.
My guess is still Sumatra or Malaysia but I do hope somebody solves
this riddle.

Michael

PS A hint? I found mine in Holland. I assume Maurice did too? And where was the one Miguel posted found?

[VVV]

Hi Maurice,

Have you noticed that you guard resembles the Sundanese variation of the Dutch hunting daggers?
But the elephant trunk doesn't look Javanese to me?

Michael

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by VVV

Have you noticed that you guard resembles the Sundanese variation of the Dutch hunting daggers?
But the elephant trunk doesn't look Javanese to me?

Yes, the so called Tjikeroe swords have also such guard.
However the guard at my piece is not that firm. I wouldn't be happy having my hand behind it when the opponent makes a heavy blow at this guard.

I guess it is a weird piece, but as we now have seen there are several of them. All with that strange "sumatran" look elephant trunk, "moluccan" style handle, "Malaysian" bladeshape, and the Javanese handguard........

Maybe when most of them acquired in the Netherlands, there is a possibility that they were made for the Dutch people back than to take with them as trophies?