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#1 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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ebay auction just ended at 8pm (GMT+1), so i posted this for info & discussion. thanks for any comments or further info.
titled "SUPERB Indonesian/Dutch Klewang European "Hanger" Style Sword" and it is. vendor's description: (in part) Quote:
blade appears to have a few age spots, but then, so do i. ![]() anyway, it's shortly making the journey from the USA to live with me here in the UK. i noted a few very similar hunting swords from the same period (1st decade 20th c.) in earlier posts here after a search on 'Tjikeroeh'. (Linky) ebay's vendor supplied (now public domain) photos attached, better than i could take ![]() Last edited by kronckew; 14th June 2015 at 10:22 PM. |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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more photos:
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#3 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Aussie Bush
Posts: 4,160
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Wayne:
Very nice example of an Indonesian version of the Dutch military klewang done up as a European style hunting sword. Congratulations on a good find. Although there are a few of these around, this is a really nice one. I like the brass beetles on the hilt and the one on the throat of the scabbard--very nice touches. The fittings on these are usually brass, so the white metal (silver?) ferrule is a bit out of place, especially given that the other ferrule on the hilt appears to be brass and there are brass mounts on the scabbard. The white metal ferrule might be a replacement and this would be an easy change to make since the tang on these swords is threaded and the small nut on the butt of the hilt unscrews, readily allowing the whole hilt and guard to be unmounted quite simply. I would be interested to know what you think the horn handle might be from. These are often a type of stag horn rather than from buffalo, and I wonder whether yours is also stag that has been rounded, carved and blackened--you may be able to tell by removing the hilt and examining the ends and insides of the horn. Ian. |
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#4 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,286
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That is a HUGE blade for one of these !
![]() Beautiful . |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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might be the photos but the scabbard mounts are supposed to be silver alloy the beetle is in brass as a contrast. it goes brass -silver-brass-silver-brass-silver, which seems OK to me.
![]() thanks for pointing out they are beetles - i'd not noticed that detail. cool. i gather it's blade quite long for the area. good size for a sailor. Last edited by kronckew; 15th June 2015 at 12:19 AM. |
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#6 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,286
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Those are supposed to be Acorns not beetles; traditional European hunting sword decoration .
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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![]() ![]() p.s. the dutch hembrug klewang has a blade about 63.5 cm. (25 in.) which is the same as my solingen one. i gather they were developed to replace the longer european swords which were not doing well in the jungle against the shorter swords of the insurgents they were fighting. so this new one is a few inches longer at 28. which is my size. i remember being measured for my USCG officer's sword which was 28, just long enough so i did not hit the ground saluting during parades. saw someone who mixed his sword with his taller room mates once during a pass in review. he hit the ground and the blade snapped off. he finished going past the admiral with just the hilt and an invisible sword ![]() ![]() sadly, most military sword blades now are stainless parade models, dull & brittle. i bought one with a proper rayskin grip covering (the std. ones are imitaion in plastic) and aproper high carbon steel blade that passes the british proof test & is sharpened correctly, halfway down the blade & six in. on the false edge (which is thus no longer 'false'). Last edited by kronckew; 15th June 2015 at 12:23 AM. |
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#8 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 413
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A fine blade! I was almost a bidder but decided to pay some bills instead
![]() I like these blades very much. You've found the other threads in the forum so I won't repeat them here. This is by far the largest example I've seen. - Dave A. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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food is highly over-rated. you can live without it, electricity, and housing, as long as you have a good klewang. or two...
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#10 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 1,209
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I have a Tjikeroeh hirschfanger. The mountings are executed in the same materials as this klewang. Very nice piece.
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#11 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Aussie Bush
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Another Indonesian (Tjikeroeh) sword based on the Dutch klewang (bottom) shown with two Dutch klewangs: a traditional Dutch military issue klewang (top) and a Japanese-modified version following capture of the Dutch East Indies in WWII.
Ian ![]() ![]() |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
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interesting & beautiful heiho conversion. most retained the riveted grip, cutting back the hand guard to a simple shortened cross guard. they also shortened the blade, removing the clipped point.
std. heiho (left/top - not mine), my solingen dutchy (bottom/right) |
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#13 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
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sword just arrived, i'm happy.
blade is actually 26 in. long, from guard to point. 1 1/4" at the front of the ricasso. 5/8 in. thick there. distal taper to point. 1 3/8'' wide at mid point, 1 5/8 wide just before false edge. razor sharp with no apparent secondary bevel added by user sharpening. some blackened spots but not really pitted. one major ding in the edge needs steeling and a light stoning. corresponding ding in the wood scabbard, so unlikely battle damage. horn grip, pommel, guard all tight to blade, shell guard wiggles slightly. weight 990 grams in scabbard, 790 grams unsheathed. silvery metal on scabbard looks like german silver sheet. the scabbard is not up to the quality of the sword itself. feels quite nimble in the hand, balance is about 7 in. from guard. next, i'm looking for a suitable belt frog, anyone have any photos of what kind of frogs or baldric that would be appropriate? ive so far pinned it down to these: the brown one may get dyed black. |
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