Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

kronckew · 2nd July 2006, 08:37 PM

valiant offer good quality modern productions of traditional ethnic weapons and tools, the steels, heat treatments and attention to detail are good, and mr. suwandi stands behind his line of products with a good reputation. are they reproductions? i'd say not, they are just new, but are tools and weapons of a style that have been made in the past and like these , are still being made and used. that's one of the joys of this area of the world, you can go into a general store in indonesia out in a village and pick up a parang which is just like one you would have got 100 years ago, is it a repro? his are not the fanciest, or the most decorated, and yes, older ones may be of better quality, but they cost more too.

he has a few antiques for sale as well if you are interested in them, but his new ones are intended as 'users' and some may be the antiques of the future.

i also hang out at another Blade forum or two and valiant has a good reputation for good tools. they are a good starting point. his goloks are usefull camping tools with a bit of class. definitely not 'tourist' junk. his 'damascus' blades are laminated steel rather than pattern welded, which is proper. they,as well as the non-'damascus' ones are hand made & forged rather than machine made junk. his descriptions are accurate and honest & he is a gentleman to deal with.

saying that, he has recently had some personal troubles, and i've been told he needs to go in for an operation shortly, so deliveries may suffer, he's a small one-man band.

here's one of mine that i got from him, non-traditional, greek Kopis with a laminated steel blade, but beutifully made.

also have one of his goloks for camping/hiking. my antiques stay home & look pretty, his i use.

if you are in the USA/Canada , he has a dealer there at

http://stores.ebay.com/Valiant-Co-Blades-USA

bwray has some new stock on the way to build up his stock before suwandi goes in for his operation. bwray is an aqquaintance, but i've known him from another forum (the HI Mfg. forum on bladeforums.com) that deals with high quality nepalese kukhri's, for quite a while now, he also is a gentleman and will deal with you in honour.

check him out also on the big knife forum on Ramanon at http://www.ramanon.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=123 for more info also. please be aware that ramanon is a no holds barred type of forum rather than an educational and historical one like here. some of their other sub forums are not for the faint of heart and cover adult only subjects.

2nd July 2006, 08:37 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,152	valiant offer good quality modern productions of traditional ethnic weapons and tools, the steels, heat treatments and attention to detail are good, and mr. suwandi stands behind his line of products with a good reputation. are they reproductions? i'd say not, they are just new, but are tools and weapons of a style that have been made in the past and like these , are still being made and used. that's one of the joys of this area of the world, you can go into a general store in indonesia out in a village and pick up a parang which is just like one you would have got 100 years ago, is it a repro? his are not the fanciest, or the most decorated, and yes, older ones may be of better quality, but they cost more too. he has a few antiques for sale as well if you are interested in them, but his new ones are intended as 'users' and some may be the antiques of the future. i also hang out at another Blade forum or two and valiant has a good reputation for good tools. they are a good starting point. his goloks are usefull camping tools with a bit of class. definitely not 'tourist' junk. his 'damascus' blades are laminated steel rather than pattern welded, which is proper. they,as well as the non-'damascus' ones are hand made & forged rather than machine made junk. his descriptions are accurate and honest & he is a gentleman to deal with. saying that, he has recently had some personal troubles, and i've been told he needs to go in for an operation shortly, so deliveries may suffer, he's a small one-man band. here's one of mine that i got from him, non-traditional, greek Kopis with a laminated steel blade, but beutifully made. also have one of his goloks for camping/hiking. my antiques stay home & look pretty, his i use. if you are in the USA/Canada , he has a dealer there at http://stores.ebay.com/Valiant-Co-Blades-USA bwray has some new stock on the way to build up his stock before suwandi goes in for his operation. bwray is an aqquaintance, but i've known him from another forum (the HI Mfg. forum on bladeforums.com) that deals with high quality nepalese kukhri's, for quite a while now, he also is a gentleman and will deal with you in honour. check him out also on the big knife forum on Ramanon at http://www.ramanon.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=123 for more info also. please be aware that ramanon is a no holds barred type of forum rather than an educational and historical one like here. some of their other sub forums are not for the faint of heart and cover adult only subjects. Last edited by kronckew; 2nd July 2006 at 09:12 PM.