[Rafngard]

Hello All,

A recent purchase from a fellow forum member, via ebay. I'm told it's late 19th century/early 20th.

As can be seen the blade, while nice and long, has seen better days, with some deep, deep pitting. It is also loose, and though it's hard to see in the photos, seems to be rotated about 15 degrees out of being in line with the blade. The pommel is also missing a chunk, I suspect insects.

Any tips of preservation? So far I've gone over the blade with soap and water, a scrub brush, obsessively dried it, drenched it in wd-40, let it dry for 24 hours, and applied mineral oil.

Also, is there any good way to tell if a blade is secured with a traditional damar/beeswax/filler mix verses a modern apoxy? What's there doesn't quite look like what I see on the Moro pieces I have, but as I understand, it wouldn't be the same stuff anyway. I've tried to get pictures of it. When in contact with a damp paper towel, the towel came back slightly green, I'd like to correct the blade looseness if possible.

Am I correct in thinking it's very difficult to determine which specific culture in Sumatra produced this old warrior? My readings in the forum's archives seem to suggest that to be the case.

As always, any and all comments are appreciated.

Have fun,
Leif