Thank you both!
I arrived at the Spring Brimfield market on the Tuesday and in the morning I saw someone walking away along the highway with a sheathed spear at a distance. I had been lucky in getting that long yari the preceding year and I know I cannot even frequently be the first to find these fresh-to-market treasures. It is so nice when it happens though.
But my luck had not soured, as the next morning I found this same spear was now among some other nice ethnographic items for sale in another spot in a newly opened field. Even better, the gentleman selling it had bought it "right" and was passing it along with only a nominal markup.
As you shall see below, it is another budiak, slightly larger, and with the substantial benefit of retaining not only an interestingly carved old pole but even retaining a scabbard for the blade. As with your observation Lew, the purpose of the wire becomes clear on this example. Battara, this one also shows no signs of a twist core and is also a well-made hand-forged piece.
I suspect that it is probably of the same era as the spear above.
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