Barong with Odd Blade?

[Battara]

Greetings folks! This was on ebay and abruptly ended. IT is listed as a barong with an early blade. I'm not sure about the blade being early - never saw one like this. Thought I'd post this for our archives. Enjoy.

[mross]

I'm guessing a barong handle fitted to another blade.

[Lew]

Jose

It looks like a composite piece to me . :confused:

[Battara]

Yeah Lew I was thinking the same thing...... :shrug:

[CharlesS]

Yes, looks composite, and the blade is certainly not well forged. Wonder if this was some sort of crude "utility" blade "married" to a barung hilt. :shrug:

[Maurice]

But I like the nicely carved handle!

[ThePepperSkull]

could the handle be an indication of its origin as a whole or was this blade most likely recycled from somewhere else?

I bring it up because the hilt looks Yakan to me? :shrug:

[tom hyle]

I've seen this blade type; but from where?
Obviously oceanic SE Asian.
What's not to like about the forging? I agree that the surface is not entirely finely ground, as usually seen on barong, but that has nothing to do with the forging. The slight hollowing of the flats at the base is typical of narrowed ricassoes formed by upsetting the billet. See Visayan swords for an easily available comparison.

[Battara]

The hilt is not Yakan - their tails are much longer.

[ThePepperSkull]

^ I bow to the master. :D

I saw a longer-than-usual crest and thought "yakan" right away, so my instincts are far from fine-tuned. Gonna go look at the archives here to see some Yakan Barung for comparison. Would this hilt just be Sulu, then?

[Battara]

Yes this would be a variation of Sulu. If you find something to the contrary, please let us know. We are all still learning (my wife says I have a lot to learn :rolleyes: ).

[ThePepperSkull]

^ Not at all! Most of what I know, aside from Cato's Moro Swords, comes from your old posts as a resource as well as other members like Kai, Bill Marsh, Zelbone, and many others.

Any opportunity to be corrected by any number of people on this forum is something I value as a learning experience and brings me closer to a more in-depth knowledge about the blades I find so fascinating.