Knife Identification
I've had this blade for quite a while but have had no luck in identifying its origins.
The stupa style pommel reminds me of Nepalese/Tibetan kora. The scabbard bindings remind me of many Indonesian weapons I have. But the form of the blade is strongly reminiscent of various SEA dha/daarb that I have and have seen.
The pommel is weighty and made of brass. The hilt is half rattan wrap and half snake/lizard skin.
The scabbard locket seems to be copper plate bonded to snake/lizard skin. The scabbard body a light-weight dark wood with all its bindings in place. The chape is again snake/lizard skin. Everything is tight and fixed.
Not sure what the red elements are, but I suspect it's remnants of polishing compound.
The blade is almost flat on one side with an edge profile on the other. There seems to be some evidence of a tempered edge. Single-edged, the concave/squared end has a false edge. The spine is ridged. All is tight.
The light has caught the end of the tang in the pommel in such a way as to really highlight it in the photo - actually it's completely smooth and barely visible.
Apologies for the quality of the photos.
Dimensions:
Full length in scabbard - 4800mm/19in
Pommel length - 60mm/2 1/1in
Full hilt length - 1450mm/5 1/2in
Blade length - 2900mm/11 1/2in
Blade depth near hilt - 30mm/1 1/4in
Blade depth at end - 40mm/2 2/3in
Blade width near hilt - 4mm
Blade width at end - 1.5mm
Scabbard length - 3350mm/13 1/4in
Locket depth - 65mm/2 1/2in
Locket width - 25mm/1in
Scabbard depth - 50mm/1 7/8in
Scabbard width near locket - 20mm/3/4in
Scabbard width near chape - 14mm/1/2in
Locket length - 40mm/1 5/8in
Locket depth - 52mm/2in
Locket width - 12mm/1/2in
The weight sits back in the hand and makes this a very efficient fighting weapon.
Any thoughts welcome.
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