A talismanic thai (?) knife ?

thomas hauschild · 30th September 2022, 04:08 PM

I got some pieces from a friend who left germany decades ago. He forwarded some pieces that have been storaged 20 years and he thought that will fit better to my collection. But I‘m more experienced in the indonesian area.

This knife has 34 cm total length and many inscriptions. Blade seems to be hard and with a thin edge.

Thanks for your help.

Best thomas

Ian · 30th September 2022, 11:38 PM

Thomas, your friend is a kind person. Yes, this is an older Thai talismanic knife. Definitely not the commonly found and recently made style for those who travel. The carved hilt may represent a monkey.

kronckew · 2nd October 2022, 10:09 AM

High status mead mor talisman knife, mid-20c. The animal is a stylized tiger. Probably made by or for a very high ranking Buddhist monk.

thomas hauschild · 8th October 2022, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

High status mead mor talisman knife, mid-20c. The animal is a stylized tiger. Probably made by or for a very high ranking Buddhist monk.

Many thanks

I was told, that the blade is possibly made with the use of leklai material.

Best Thomas

kronckew · 9th October 2022, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas hauschild

Many thanks

I was told, that the blade is possibly made with the use of leklai material.

Best Thomas

According to my sources, these Thai amulet knives were not forged from lek lai, they were forged from lek Numphee, steel can not be made from lek lai. It can not be forged into a blade because it is not really iron (Fe), but numphee can be used to make blades as it is a type of iron that can be made into high quality steel, there is a big difference.

Leknamphee

LekLai

JeffS · 10th October 2022, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

According to my sources, these Thai amulet knives were not forged from lek lai, they were forged from lek Numphee, steel can not be made from lek lai. It can not be forged into a blade because it is not really iron (Fe), but numphee can be used to make blades as it is a type of iron that can be made into high quality steel, there is a big difference.

My understanding is that leklai is magnetite which would make it an iron ore. How are lek lai and lek numphee meant to differ compositionally?

30th September 2022, 04:08 PM	#1
thomas hauschild Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Germany Posts: 139	A talismanic thai (?) knife ? I got some pieces from a friend who left germany decades ago. He forwarded some pieces that have been storaged 20 years and he thought that will fit better to my collection. But I‘m more experienced in the indonesian area. This knife has 34 cm total length and many inscriptions. Blade seems to be hard and with a thin edge. Thanks for your help. Best thomas Attached Images

2nd October 2022, 10:09 AM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,178	High status mead mor talisman knife, mid-20c. The animal is a stylized tiger. Probably made by or for a very high ranking Buddhist monk. Last edited by kronckew; 2nd October 2022 at 10:30 AM.

30th September 2022, 11:38 PM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,194	Thomas, your friend is a kind person. Yes, this is an older Thai talismanic knife. Definitely not the commonly found and recently made style for those who travel. The carved hilt may represent a monkey.