Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


126 - Indonesian Parrot Head Golok Machete with Horn Trim and Hilt

This large knife or machete, termed Golok, has a horn hilt in the form of a parrot's head and a wooden scabbard with metal and horn trim. The single edged blade is just over 16 inches in length and is very slightly concave on the back and somewhat more convex along the edge. The thickness tapers and is over 0.3 inches at the base of the spine. The blade appears to have a layered construction with forging flaws consistent with handmade work. A wooden scabbard has pale tan metal trim (tarnished copper-nickel?) that is somewhat dented at the end and also has amber-gray horn trim at its mouth. A horn belt hook is also present on one side. Lew dated this example to the 1930s. Overall length is just under 22 inches inserted into the scabbard and weight is 25 ounces.




Return to item index page