[kai]

Hello Michael,

I have noticed that there is a variation of handles as well as curvature on the blade of the knives within the family of Korambi. I assume that the original version is the one with a ring for the index finger and which originally was a rice-reaping knife.

I'm not sure a knife-sized rice reaping tool would be practical. I agree that korambi and Co. probably originated from agricultural sickles but I tend to believe these were specialized back-up fighting blades rather than dual-use tools. All the rice harvesting I've witnessed in SE Asia was done with sickle-like tools held in forward grip rather than the reverse grip.

Then we have the version that was described to me by a local source as a Kuku Rimau (enclosed as reference).

Great: Where, when, which ethnic group?

It differs from the others by less curvature of the blade, it's much longer and the handle doesn't reach further than the 2nd or 3d finger (= half fist load). Also it has a double edge. This makes me believe that it's a development from the Korambi, and maybe influenced by the Jambiah as well, and made for fighting only. As its features differs so much from the other variations I have kept the name Kuku Rimau to separate this style from the first two categories within the same family of knives.

I agree that your example is quite different; not quite sure wether it belongs to the same group of blades as Freddy's though. I'd also like to verify wether the use of this name may be too generic or really specifies a subgroup of blades (at least in the area of interest). I've found several Malay websites utilizing this name for typical kerambit...

Actually I think the korambi, as a fighting knife, as well is quite recent and I haven't seen any with a documented age of earlier than late 19th C.

I keep wondering wether these blades were just kept secret enough and/or looked too tiny to escape early colonial collecting efforts?

PS If Freddy's dagger would had deep fullers and thicker, single-edged blade, as well as a slightly different handle and sheath, I would have been inclined to call it a Siraui...

Yeah, I see what you mean. Incidentally, siraui also seem to come in 2 blade flavors:
A single edged version with only the outer edge sharpened - quite akin to a piso raut for rattan splitting but with a less specialized hilt and more of a general utility knife (possibly resembling the Lumad sanggi in EDC function).
Then there is what I believe to be a dedicated fighting variant with false edge or double edge and better examples showing fullers or facetted blades. However, the cross section of the blades I've seen clearly shows that the outer edge is still the primary cutting edge.

OTOH, the examples of the dagger type discussed here which I handled either had a symmetrical diamond cross section or leaning towards the inner edge being the primary edge.

Regards,
Kai