Curious Moro blade

[Ian]

The blade below has the same curious "neck" at the ricasso as the original subject of this post. The pictures attached here are an example from the island of Sumbawa in the Indoensian archipelago -- Sumbawa lies between Lombok and Flores, just to the north of Sumba.

This is a heavy large knife/short sword that has seen some use. Primarily a chopper that could serve as a general purpose tool and a defensive arm. The blade is laminated and has a prominent hardened edge that appears to have been heat treated. Nicely made blade with a razor-shape edge. I've included a couple of pictures to show the blade and its temper line.

OAL = 20 1/4 in.
Blade = 14 3/4 in.
Hilt = 6 in.
Blade thickness just in front of hilt = 9/32 in.
Blade thickness at maximum width = 1/8 in.
Maximum width of blade = 1 5/8 in.

It seems that the original subject of this post is related to the style shown here, and is perhaps a blade from Sumbawa that was remounted in Moroland. As such, it is probably not a true Moro weapon, but an interesting hybrid.

Ian.