Very unusual SE sword
 

Here is another very interesting sword on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=008
I am pretty sure that it is NOT a Japanese sword: the blade geometry is totally different, the blade is made from file, there is no habaki, using of rattan and the suspension ring are also not Japanese, and so on. But it is definitely Japanese inspired, old, original and SE Asian in origin. Maybe it is from Korea or Indonesia or ????

Nice piece.

Looks a bit like a cross between a Japanese katana and a mandau from Borneo. Especially the rattan knot looks as it comes from Borneo.

Beside the rattan knot, also the inlay in one side of the scabbard you can bring to Borneo (see pic).
Maybe this sword was left behind after a decapitated Japanese soldier in the war when the Japanese were in borneo? And later made it a toeristic piece by the malay people living in Borneo?
I'm curious about other opinions.

Looks like the blade is made from a big old bastard file.

Hi Maurice, it does look like the paddle. thought that when I first saw the inlay.

Also, by the seller's description a rather pricey garden tool

"The useage of this knife would be for gardening purposes prunning of bonsai etc,"

One man's Ginsu is another man's Assadullah...

Seriously, I was watching it with interest, but could not imagine what would be its purpose. Very peculiar form of the blade: why would it be especially good for slicing rutabagas?

Hi Bill,
I wonder what that "cucumber" is on the other side....do you know?

Regards,
Maurice

Pruning bonsai :eek: :eek: :eek:

Often if a Japanese soldier in WWII could not afford a Japan made sword or dagger, he would commission one in one of the occuppied countries to be made in the style of a Japanese piece. I suspect this is such a piece and the blade is older, but the rest is WWII.

Ainu sword
 

May I suggest that this is an Ainu knife or sword of late 19th to early 20th. century. The original inhabitants of Japan that were pushed to the north, known for the Bear Cult and also the hairiest race on earth.

Best Regards,
Maskell

I guess anything is possible, although I thought that Ainu pieces looked less Japanese and more "tribal" from what I have seen. :shrug:

Don't the Ainu have a fairly distinct style of artwork? I'm not seeing the Ainu curvilinear patterns on this one yet.

F

I think it is quite possible that this had a previous life as a file, compare the marks seen close to the hilt with this Tibetan piece
DrD

I do not know much about the intricacies of Far Eastern stuff. However in this picture there is a melon/watermelon which is often seen in late 19th century Japanese metalwork. Often motifs made in alloys of gold and silver attached to bronze items many sold to visitors in the late 19th early 20th century. I do not see this as a true weapon as the bone? loop on the scabbard seems the wrong material for the function intended. The distal end of the blade does look Indonesian/Borneo perhaps even the Philippines? To me it is not old. Perhaps made for a Japanese chap while in the Philippines some time ago?

On reflection I rather fancy Freddy was right from the start. Borneo made for a Japanese customer. Also anything said to be stunning by a seller is to say the least questionable IMHO.