Identification possible Parang or something else?
 

Originally posted over at the bladeforums in this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...dentificiation

I Purchased this a couple of weeks ago at a flee market; the seller told me it came from France and used to have an "ivory" or "ivory" like handle which had crumbled off.

All i have are pictures and although to me it looks old, it could be a fake especially since the shape is odd to me.

The guys over at bladeforums suggested that it could be a parang and this was the best place to research it.


I've attached a couple off pictures but i have a lot more, the link to the complete album is here https://picasaweb.google.com/1040976...Kry_4CFoMeDPA#

Anyone have any idea?

I think it may be African, just a guess............................jimmy

It looks a bit short for a sword; perhaps a Butcher's knife ? :shrug:

It looks old, hand forged and heavy. It has a hole in the end to hand up when done ; could it be a flensing knife for removing whale blubber or the meat ?

It doesn't look like any of the parangs that I have seen up to this point, but who knows what might show up tomorrow. I wonder if this might have once been mounted as a polearm? :confused:

Best,
Robert

This chopper reminds me in form to Chinese, Vietnamese and other SE Asian countries and it seems well made. It has a beveled edge with a hollow grind, however, the tang construction is different than what you would expect on a Chinese example. Still, I would lean in this direction based on what I can see in the pictures.

My thoughts exactly... I would think mainland SE Asia, similar to Chinese polearm in blade-shape but not all of its geometry and definitely not tang.

i thought polearm to at first, but what about the tang? all the polearms i have seen have had the "wrap around" type.

And also the person i bought it from claimed it used to have an "ivory" handle...

How heavy is this?

n2s

The tang looks like the handle had been peened pommel. Probably not a pole arm.

n2s

i will measure its weight when i get home, stay tuned!

Vietnamese is a good guess, especially if it had an ivory or bone handle. With just the blade to go on, many regions with a Chinese influence are possible.

I have two short choppers that are somewhat similar, one from China and one from Vietnam, but neither is an exact match.
Josh