BORNEO SUMPITAN /LAMINATED/WATERED BLADE

asomotif · 12th February 2009, 01:31 PM

I picked up this old sumpitan.
The provenance goes back to 1950's but exact age is difficult to say for me.

The blade is laminated / watered steel.
It is pretty thin material and it has some slight bends.
The rattan binding is still firm and the wooden shaft is still amazingly straight.
Total length is 206 cms incl blade.

Does anybody have examples of similar blades for comparison ?
(May also be Philipines or any other region)

The only other thread with nice pictures that I found is this one.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=sumpitan

Nonoy Tan · 12th February 2009, 02:54 PM

I do not think that it is from the Philippines.

Nonoy

asomotif · 12th February 2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

I do not think that it is from the Philippines.

No, I am quite sure this one is from Borneo.
But I meant that if anyone has a similar blade from another origin it would be interesting for comparison.

Best regards,
Willem

Rick · 12th February 2009, 05:52 PM

Willem, am I seeing mixed metals in the blade ?

Henk · 12th February 2009, 06:43 PM

Willem,

I don't think you will easily find a similar blade. I suppose you already noticed that your blade is a javanese tombak. Quite rare I suppose.

Flavio · 12th February 2009, 07:17 PM

Beautiful Willem, congrats

Rick · 12th February 2009, 07:21 PM

It looks Indonesian, but I don't think it is a tombak .
It looks purpose made .
These certainly would be worthy trade items for the tribes .
I just wonder, is that pamor or just stringy iron with a patina .

12th February 2009, 01:31 PM	#1
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,237	BORNEO SUMPITAN /LAMINATED/WATERED BLADE I picked up this old sumpitan. The provenance goes back to 1950's but exact age is difficult to say for me. The blade is laminated / watered steel. It is pretty thin material and it has some slight bends. The rattan binding is still firm and the wooden shaft is still amazingly straight. Total length is 206 cms incl blade. Does anybody have examples of similar blades for comparison ? (May also be Philipines or any other region) The only other thread with nice pictures that I found is this one. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=sumpitan Attached Images

12th February 2009, 02:54 PM	#2
Nonoy Tan Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 293	I do not think that it is from the Philippines. Nonoy

12th February 2009, 05:52 PM	#4
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Willem, am I seeing mixed metals in the blade ?

12th February 2009, 06:43 PM	#5
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Willem, I don't think you will easily find a similar blade. I suppose you already noticed that your blade is a javanese tombak. Quite rare I suppose.

12th February 2009, 07:17 PM	#6
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Beautiful Willem, congrats

12th February 2009, 07:21 PM	#7
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	It looks Indonesian, but I don't think it is a tombak . It looks purpose made . These certainly would be worthy trade items for the tribes . I just wonder, is that pamor or just stringy iron with a patina .