Interesting Kris for comments

[kai]

Hello Bill,

Bugis used blowguns with poisoned darts until firearms. They practised definitive warfare, always removing the head.

Ok, let's assume this really is a major difference although I'm not sure you're comparing both ethnic groups at the same period. (AFAIK, most folks throughout the archipelago tend to make sure that their enemies won't get back to them later on. While there are certainly several options to accomplish this, beheading is a pretty sure way... ;o)

As experianced tool makers it seems logical they would develop a blade that would dispatch & behead.

Well, in warfare you often don't have time nor do you wan't to take unneccessary risks. I'd assume that the Dyaks would have copied any superior tool for removing heads since they really prized the heads. And a spear is much safer for poking seemingly dead bodies.

I've posted a blade in the past where one of the one curve shows continuous use.

Yes, I remember your kris but I have to admit that the visible signs of use didn't convinced me that they resulted from taking heads...

How did the Bugis finish off a man dazed by a poison dart and remove their head? I've posted in the past a referance by early Portuguese that described the Burgis warrior as carrying a sword just for that task; although there is no description of the sword itself.

Yeah, but where are the artifacts from early museum collections? It's not that the European exploiters never met the Bugis up close and personal...

I have a feeling that Bill M's sword is older then you think. One needs to concentrate on the blade & disregard the fittings and scabbard.

Sure, I am focusing on the blade. It would be important to know how long it has been kept in western collections since this heavily influences preservation of the blade.

If coming out of Indonesia during the last 60 years, this pamor blade would be very well preserved if it's a 19th century piece (which I'd guess - maybe 1850 +/- 100 years).

It would be interesting to know what type of tang it has.

Yes, yes, yes! Bill (M), any chance that you let Jose craft a nice clamp for this beauty and let him have a peek at the tang while he's at it?

Regards,
Kai

[Bill M]

Hi Kai and others. I have been really enjoying this thread.

I have a few observations. I don't see this being a beheading sword, the blade is light but very well-balanced. I would think it would be a bit of work to quickly cut off a head.

I would also like to see the tang and have a better clamp, but I am concerned about the handle. It already has a crack, and I am concerned the trauma of removing it would break it, though I could be wrong. It is also on very tight, so my usual method of heating the blade would probably crack the handle.

I know the handle is wrong, but do not know what would be better? So replacing this handle might be a problem. If we could arrive at a consensus of what an appropriate handle should look like, maybe I could get a right one made(?)

Could we get some better answers if I clean and stain?

I have one other picture that may provide another clue. The metal that usually goes up into the hilt seems to come out just above the ferrule.

[kai]

Hello Bill,

I would also like to see the tang and have a better clamp, but I am concerned about the handle. It already has a crack, and I am concerned the trauma of removing it would break it, though I could be wrong. It is also on very tight, so my usual method of heating the blade would probably crack the handle.

Removing the hilt by carefully heating the blade should be possible without damage. Horn hilts like this one almost always come with hairline cracks due to age and, especially, due to storage in low humidity. More often than not, this is not a major issue if one is not living in a very low humidity climate and can avoid humidity and temperature fluctuations. Actually, I'd expect any cracks to become smaller in Bill's controlled environment...

I know the handle is wrong, but do not know what would be better? So replacing this handle might be a problem. If we could arrive at a consensus of what an appropriate handle should look like, maybe I could get a right one made(?)

I'm not positive that the hilt really is wrong: Kris fitted by Malays seem to have non-standard hilts fairly often. And this one is certainly not a cheap, hurried replacement for selling this piece to unsuspecting travellers. Many of these kris also don't have clamps (or rather poor ones as in this case) but I think this blade really calls for one, and possibly a better one at that.

Could we get some better answers if I clean and stain?

I'm afraid that we're mostly limited by missing data/knowledge and possibly won't get more answers. However, if I were you, I'd at least do a vinegar stain as suitable for Moro kris. If other, more experienced folks don't come up with with more info on a likely origin, I'd tempted to try warangan on this one and to let the result decide wether to leave it on...

I have one other picture that may provide another clue. The metal that usually goes up into the hilt seems to come out just above the ferrule.

Too much gunk but it does seem to be a fairly stout tang, isn't it?

Regards,
Kai