SURPRISE! Wootz Steel in a Most Unexpected Place!...An Aceh Podang/Peudueng

CharlesS · 3rd June 2015, 03:07 PM

I was fortunate enough to purchase this sword from a forum member a couple of months ago. The blade was a little spotty with some areas of deep pitting, so I sent it out to Philip Tom to see if he could improve the appearance of the blade.

When he began to polish and etch, he was astounded and contacted me immediately...."this thing's got a wootz blade...and a good wootz blade." I could not believe it as I have never seen a peudueng with a wootz blade. All the other features of the blade are quite the norm including its fullering and fexibility, though it is by no means flimsy. It also has the typical false edge of approximately 10in.

The wootz steel blade brought up and lot of questions between Phil and I, most notably "how did this sword come together"? My immediate theory was that one of the talented craftsmen from all over Asia they could be found in the Indonesian archipelago likely had made it.

But Phil brought up an excellent point...if that is case then why haven't we seen more similar blades of wootz from that area? Could it have been from a wootz ingot traded from India or Persian and then forged in Sumatra???...likely not keeping in mind the delicacy involved in forging a blade from a wootz ingot and not ruining the pattern in the process.

So now I tend to agree with Phil, with this likely being a "made to specifications order" blade requested from either Persia or India, and making it's way back to Sumatra. This is yet another sword that falls into my interest of the trade done in weapons in "dar al Islam". It's another example of a piece that I really wish "could talk" to us!

If this is the case, can you imagine the patience and care given to exact specifications, not to mention the "waiting time" for the buyer...likely at least two years!!!

Please share your thoughts on anything about the sword...its origins, construction, or otherwise.

This peudeung is nicely mounted with a better than usual hilt that has decorative motifs to he guard, a silver wire wrapped grip, and a magnificent pommel with brass mounts holding small(likely low grade) diamonds, and decorated in type Aceh enamel motifs. The hilt pad is quite nice as well, and is in great condition.

The sword came with its original leather scabbard, but there was so much grit and sand in the scabbard, it would have ruined the finished etch over time, so I asked Phil to make a wooden core scabbard for me.

I would be most interested in seeing examples of other original peudeung scabbards to give me some ideas to go by in completing this wooden one. Thanks for any pics here.

Thanks again for any input!

Dimensions:

Overall length: 42in.
Blade length: 36.5in
Widest point of the blade: 1.5in.

3rd June 2015, 03:07 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,857	SURPRISE! Wootz Steel in a Most Unexpected Place!...An Aceh Podang/Peudueng I was fortunate enough to purchase this sword from a forum member a couple of months ago. The blade was a little spotty with some areas of deep pitting, so I sent it out to Philip Tom to see if he could improve the appearance of the blade. When he began to polish and etch, he was astounded and contacted me immediately...."this thing's got a wootz blade...and a good wootz blade." I could not believe it as I have never seen a peudueng with a wootz blade. All the other features of the blade are quite the norm including its fullering and fexibility, though it is by no means flimsy. It also has the typical false edge of approximately 10in. The wootz steel blade brought up and lot of questions between Phil and I, most notably "how did this sword come together"? My immediate theory was that one of the talented craftsmen from all over Asia they could be found in the Indonesian archipelago likely had made it. But Phil brought up an excellent point...if that is case then why haven't we seen more similar blades of wootz from that area? Could it have been from a wootz ingot traded from India or Persian and then forged in Sumatra???...likely not keeping in mind the delicacy involved in forging a blade from a wootz ingot and not ruining the pattern in the process. So now I tend to agree with Phil, with this likely being a "made to specifications order" blade requested from either Persia or India, and making it's way back to Sumatra. This is yet another sword that falls into my interest of the trade done in weapons in "dar al Islam". It's another example of a piece that I really wish "could talk" to us! If this is the case, can you imagine the patience and care given to exact specifications, not to mention the "waiting time" for the buyer...likely at least two years!!! Please share your thoughts on anything about the sword...its origins, construction, or otherwise. This peudeung is nicely mounted with a better than usual hilt that has decorative motifs to he guard, a silver wire wrapped grip, and a magnificent pommel with brass mounts holding small(likely low grade) diamonds, and decorated in type Aceh enamel motifs. The hilt pad is quite nice as well, and is in great condition. The sword came with its original leather scabbard, but there was so much grit and sand in the scabbard, it would have ruined the finished etch over time, so I asked Phil to make a wooden core scabbard for me. I would be most interested in seeing examples of other original peudeung scabbards to give me some ideas to go by in completing this wooden one. Thanks for any pics here. Thanks again for any input! Dimensions: Overall length: 42in. Blade length: 36.5in Widest point of the blade: 1.5in. Attached Images