Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Two swords I have that I know nothing about. (South-East Asian/West-African)

Kjertesvein · 25th October 2017, 09:49 AM

Hello sword-aficionados. I have two swords laying around. I know next to nothing about South-East Asian/West-African bladed weapons.

First is a , south-east asian, which is what sparks the most of my attention. It was discovered in the ventilation while renovating my new apartment. The person who owned the apartment before me was an older, short geek who probably never left his own apartment, according to my father who worked with him in IT. The old man died, and now the sword passed on to me. Not much information, but the markings on the blade might give some hint to it's place of origin.

The Dah is a curved blade. It was very dirty and rusty, but I've cleaned it up a bit. The blade was sharp. It has several wave like engravings all along the blade, as well as a larger "chopped horse shoe" right above the handle. The lines along the sides of the blade creates the allusion of fullers, they're not deep. There's also a gilded surface on the back of the blade, right above the handle. The cross-section is triangular closes to the hilt, gradually leading up to a flat cross section at the top. The weapon is light and nimble in the hand.

Blade is 55 cm.
Sword is 84 cm.
I'll add exact weight tomorrow, but I suspect ~300-400 gram.

Second sword we bought 24 years ago in the Ivory Coast. The handle feels unwieldy to grip, it wasn't sharpen originally and the blade is flat like a sheet from tip to grip (lacks any dynamic cross section). It weighs ~1 kilo. Because of the things mentioned, I fear it's a tourist trap. Still, interesting design.

From what I've searched, swords I've seen from this part of the world tend to be straight, not curved. I'm leaning towards "meh" in terms of significance, but I have no idea to be honest. Due to the rich engravings, it could be, or perhaps based on, a (ceremonial) sword for all I know.

Never been cleaned or sharpened. It feels sluggish to wave around, and the grip is "unnatural" to hold firmly, due to the shape of the grip.

Blade is 61 cm.
Sword is 90 cm.

Blade is 21 cm.
Knife is 35 cm.

~Wille

25th October 2017, 09:49 AM	#1
Kjertesvein Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 1	Two swords I have that I know nothing about. (South-East Asian/West-African) Hello sword-aficionados. I have two swords laying around. I know next to nothing about South-East Asian/West-African bladed weapons. First is a , south-east asian, which is what sparks the most of my attention. It was discovered in the ventilation while renovating my new apartment. The person who owned the apartment before me was an older, short geek who probably never left his own apartment, according to my father who worked with him in IT. The old man died, and now the sword passed on to me. Not much information, but the markings on the blade might give some hint to it's place of origin. The Dah is a curved blade. It was very dirty and rusty, but I've cleaned it up a bit. The blade was sharp. It has several wave like engravings all along the blade, as well as a larger "chopped horse shoe" right above the handle. The lines along the sides of the blade creates the allusion of fullers, they're not deep. There's also a gilded surface on the back of the blade, right above the handle. The cross-section is triangular closes to the hilt, gradually leading up to a flat cross section at the top. The weapon is light and nimble in the hand. Blade is 55 cm. Sword is 84 cm. I'll add exact weight tomorrow, but I suspect ~300-400 gram. Second sword we bought 24 years ago in the Ivory Coast. The handle feels unwieldy to grip, it wasn't sharpen originally and the blade is flat like a sheet from tip to grip (lacks any dynamic cross section). It weighs ~1 kilo. Because of the things mentioned, I fear it's a tourist trap. Still, interesting design. From what I've searched, swords I've seen from this part of the world tend to be straight, not curved. I'm leaning towards "meh" in terms of significance, but I have no idea to be honest. Due to the rich engravings, it could be, or perhaps based on, a (ceremonial) sword for all I know. Never been cleaned or sharpened. It feels sluggish to wave around, and the grip is "unnatural" to hold firmly, due to the shape of the grip. Blade is 61 cm. Sword is 90 cm. Blade is 21 cm. Knife is 35 cm. ~Wille Attached Images