Indonesian saber
 

A seller of swords from Indonesia who is just starting out in the world of eBay contacted me looking for information on this sword. In my opinion it is not particularly old or valuable, but I thought it would be worth asking some questions about. I bought a similar saber with nice fullers and a clipped tip on the North coast of East Java in the early nineties, and this is the first example of something that comes close that I have seen since. Is this style recognizable to anyone? The seller comes from Northern Sumatra (Medan). It looks like the kind of thing a modern pirate might use (for when the AK is out of bullets) , and comes from an area where that is possible.
Josh

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...pai/Banner.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...ai/Blade_2.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/Handle_2.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/Handle_3.jpg

Josh, It is an old Dutch cutless or Klewang that there military used in Indonesia.


Spiral

Thanks, I thought it was perhaps not that old given the guard looks like it was made from a sheet of rolled steel cut into shape.
Josh

these have been discussed at length before in This Thread and linkies in it lead to earlier threads on them. the one shown above has been ridden hard and put down wet. probably still more valuable than you think.

Well the one I posted is on eBay now with a bad description that will probably have it end up selling cheaply. If anyone is looking for such things and can't find it let me know and I can send you a link.

The seller wanted me to buy it but I am not so interested. The blade is stamped "MILSCO". Does that narrow it down to a particular time?

Thank you for the links everyone, I had no idea these had such a history.

Josh

from one of my posts:
The US company Milsco got a contract for a large number of klewangs. Before they could all be delivered, the Dutch East Indies were also overrun. Without a paying customer, the US military took a lot of these swords into service as M1941. They did serve in the US army and marine corps, but perhaps not as an official item.

After WW2, many of the unissued Milso klewangs were bought by the Dutch government and used in the "policing actions" in Indonesia in the late 40's. Others found their way to the collectors market in new condition.

Thanks, I remember the post now, but I there was allot of information in the posts, so it slipped my mind until you reminded me.
Josh

The sword is now on its way to HongKong with all the other good stuff.
Josh