Could anyone 'enlighten' me ?

[Freddy]

This is my third Indonesian find I made this month. It's a small curved dagger. The blade has two sharp edges. The handle is made of wood. I have no sheath. If you put the handle on a table, the height of this piece is 14, 5 cm.

I tried to find the correct name for this knife, but I'm a bit confused. I found the following names : korambit, korambi, lawi ayam. :confused:
All these knives look a bit alike.

Could anyone 'enlighten' me ? :o

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/keris_hanuman/Lawiayam.jpg

[mmontoro]

There is an example with a very similar hilt in Van Zonneveld on page 33 referred to as a Beladau. Very nice piece - I like it.

[Freddy]

AAARGHHH ! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I knew I missed something in that book. :p Now I'm even more confused.

You're right, the handle looks very similar. But my knife has a blade which is more curved than the one in the picture in Zonneveld's book.

It's also quite a bit smaller. It's too small to fit in my hand. Perhaps it's a woman's weapon.

Thanks for the tip ;)

[mmontoro]

My pleasure.

http://home.swbell.net/mmontoro/beladau_002.jpg

[VVV]

A nice one!

I think it's a Lawi Ayam, Korambi etc...
Some of them have an open "half ring", like yours, as a finger rest.
Most of them have closed/full rings at the top of the hilt for fully inserting a finger.
My Silat teacher's wife is very good with them and they can be a very nasty surprise and are difficult to disarm.
The reason it looks like a Beladau is because it's local variations of the same weapon - the Jambiya.
But the size of yours, as well as the blade shape, indicates a Kerambit, Kuku Ayam, Kuku Rimau etc... ;)

Actually I think it's many names for the same knife but maybe someone else can enlighten me if there is a difference?

Michael

[LabanTayo]

if i remember correctly,
lawi ayam is longer and has a straighter blade. korambit is smaller and more curving with the finger hole. beladaw has the open toe hole.

[VVV]

Looking closer at the Beladau in van Z makes me even more insecure even if I think the size must matter?

Michael