Melanesian pole club?

lemmythesmith · 2nd September 2008, 11:07 PM

Hi Tim, the form of your club does look like a Japanese kanabo but the ones I've handled are much bigger-about 4-5 feet long and have strips of studded iron attached to them. The bottom half of kanabo are often carved with ribbing looking as if they were turned on a lathe but probably applied by hand.

Hope this helps, Graham

fearn · 3rd September 2008, 02:41 AM

Hi Tim,

I was thinking of the Japanese hanbo, which is about 3 feet long and 1 to 1.5 inches diameter. It might have a hole drilled near one end for a wrist loop. Basically, the smooth, relatively even club with an octagonal cross section seems like a Japanese thing to me.

Without doing a (destructive) wood test, there's not much way to tell, unless you have something in the way of provenance.

Anyway, it's just my opinion. I'd be happy to be wrong.

F

Tim Simmons · 3rd September 2008, 03:01 PM

F you are not wrong. At least it is an old one. Another piece to put at the back of the wardrobe.

fearn · 4th September 2008, 06:15 AM

Hi Tim,

Glad to help. Perhaps it needs a home behind the door, for providing a warm and friendly welcome to any visiting neds...

F

ausjulius · 5th September 2008, 04:37 AM

could most likely be fiji or could be tonga both areas octagonial clubs were common.. , actualy fijian clubs were traded all around the pacific due to their quality and hardness of woods found in fiji.

Tim Simmons · 5th September 2008, 07:51 AM

You sound such a nice chap

I had hopes but have lost my confidence. I can say as can be seen, it has an all over smooth patina which I have not seen on martial arts kit. The octagonal carving in real space seems less precise that one would think of Japanese work or is that just hope. Look at the patina of all three clubs.

fearn · 5th September 2008, 08:17 AM

Hi Tim,

The thing is that the Japanese martial arts community seems to have set standards for the different stick sizes, so one way to check the origin is to get out your tape and measure length and diameter. If it's close to 30" and between 1 and 1.5", it's quite possibly a hanbo. If it's not close to these measurements, it's more likely something else.

F

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2nd September 2008, 11:07 PM	#1
lemmythesmith Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 93	Hi Tim, the form of your club does look like a Japanese kanabo but the ones I've handled are much bigger-about 4-5 feet long and have strips of studded iron attached to them. The bottom half of kanabo are often carved with ribbing looking as if they were turned on a lathe but probably applied by hand. Hope this helps, Graham

3rd September 2008, 02:41 AM	#2
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Tim, I was thinking of the Japanese hanbo, which is about 3 feet long and 1 to 1.5 inches diameter. It might have a hole drilled near one end for a wrist loop. Basically, the smooth, relatively even club with an octagonal cross section seems like a Japanese thing to me. Without doing a (destructive) wood test, there's not much way to tell, unless you have something in the way of provenance. Anyway, it's just my opinion. I'd be happy to be wrong. F

3rd September 2008, 03:01 PM	#3
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	F you are not wrong. At least it is an old one. Another piece to put at the back of the wardrobe.

4th September 2008, 06:15 AM	#4
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Tim, Glad to help. Perhaps it needs a home behind the door, for providing a warm and friendly welcome to any visiting neds... F

5th September 2008, 04:37 AM	#5
ausjulius Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: musorian territory Posts: 476	could most likely be fiji or could be tonga both areas octagonial clubs were common.. , actualy fijian clubs were traded all around the pacific due to their quality and hardness of woods found in fiji.

5th September 2008, 07:51 AM	#6
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	You sound such a nice chap I had hopes but have lost my confidence. I can say as can be seen, it has an all over smooth patina which I have not seen on martial arts kit. The octagonal carving in real space seems less precise that one would think of Japanese work or is that just hope. Look at the patina of all three clubs.

5th September 2008, 08:17 AM	#7
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Tim, The thing is that the Japanese martial arts community seems to have set standards for the different stick sizes, so one way to check the origin is to get out your tape and measure length and diameter. If it's close to 30" and between 1 and 1.5", it's quite possibly a hanbo. If it's not close to these measurements, it's more likely something else. F