is this a tombak

A. G. Maisey · 17th August 2021, 12:34 AM

Yeah, a tombak.

Overall it looks Javanese, the primary indicators for a tombak are the metuk --- the little baluster between blade base & shaft --- and the body form. In this tombak the metuk looks like North Coast Jawa, but the blade base immediately in front of the metuk does not look like any Javanese tombak that I know.Additionally, this tombak has an ada-ada --- central blade ridge --- running the length of the blade, this would normally point to only a couple of Javanese classifications, and North Coast Jawa (ie, Tuban) is not one of these.

The treatment of the ferrule that supports the end of the shaft where the blade tang enters is not typically Central Javanese.

So, yeah, overall the first impression would be Jawa, but when we focus on details, it is as Detlef has said, precise classification is not at all easy. Too many contradictions.

17th August 2021, 12:34 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	Yeah, a tombak. Overall it looks Javanese, the primary indicators for a tombak are the metuk --- the little baluster between blade base & shaft --- and the body form. In this tombak the metuk looks like North Coast Jawa, but the blade base immediately in front of the metuk does not look like any Javanese tombak that I know.Additionally, this tombak has an ada-ada --- central blade ridge --- running the length of the blade, this would normally point to only a couple of Javanese classifications, and North Coast Jawa (ie, Tuban) is not one of these. The treatment of the ferrule that supports the end of the shaft where the blade tang enters is not typically Central Javanese. So, yeah, overall the first impression would be Jawa, but when we focus on details, it is as Detlef has said, precise classification is not at all easy. Too many contradictions.