Barong

kai · 26th July 2017, 12:52 PM

Hello Miguel,

I also tend to believe that the blade shape is intentional - etching could help to verify age and blade construction. Without more details, I'm not prepared to suggest this is antique: the tip seems a bit thin for fighting...

The nice pommel certainly looks antique to me. While there are old examples with brass fittings, the ferrule & sleeve here look quite crude and probably suggest a later fit/repair (probably contemporary with the scabbard replacement).

I would not call this a barung - as Chris pointed out, there are a bunch of related blades from the Sulu archipelago. An interesting variant!

Regards,
Kai

26th July 2017, 12:52 PM	#13
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Miguel, I also tend to believe that the blade shape is intentional - etching could help to verify age and blade construction. Without more details, I'm not prepared to suggest this is antique: the tip seems a bit thin for fighting... The nice pommel certainly looks antique to me. While there are old examples with brass fittings, the ferrule & sleeve here look quite crude and probably suggest a later fit/repair (probably contemporary with the scabbard replacement). I would not call this a barung - as Chris pointed out, there are a bunch of related blades from the Sulu archipelago. An interesting variant! Regards, Kai