Is this a siraui?

[kai]

Hello Ian,

Thanks for the additional data!

The defect appears to be filled with resin.

As mentioned above I'd guess there was something inlaid here; probably nothing too fancy though IMHO.

Blade length = 10.5 inches
Thickness of blade in front of hilt = 5/16 inch
The blade does taper towards the tip but not a great deal until about a half-inch from the tip where it tapers fairly acutely to the point. The sharpened edge starts about 3.5 inches from the hilt.

To have one third of the edge unsharpened is certainly unusual for Southeast Asia.

For a blade that is not very wide it is quite sturdy and thick. Probably a good thrusting weapon.

Yeah, it does look like a very simple rencong/sewar blade (without bolster and other bells and whistles). However, the hilt does not really look optimized for stabbing, doesn't it? (The gripping area appears to be rather long: when you keep the pommel inside your palm, you pretty much loose contact with the blade and vice versa if you snuggle up on the blade?)

Apparently the 2/3 edge got resharpened quite a lot, too - IMVHO quite excessive if this blade got predominantly utilized as dagger...

Maybe a utility knife with more specialized function? Or a really convincing attempt at a sharpened pry-bar at last?

Regards,
Kai

[Ian]

Kai,

It feels much more natural in the hand if the knife is held with the sharpened edge up and the thumb resting on the end of the blade. Perhaps that is why the edge is not sharpened for the first few inches. A stab to the abdomen and a slice upwards would be a devastating wound and likely to hit major blood vessels.

Ian.

[kai]

Hello Ian,

It feels much more natural in the hand if the knife is held with the sharpened edge up and the thumb resting on the end of the blade.

There are quite a few utility/EDC/status knives/tools which are mainly utilized with an edge-up grip: peurawot, lopah petawaran, luju celiko(?), piso raut, sanggi, etc.

Perhaps that is why the edge is not sharpened for the first few inches.

Yeah, for the first inch or so - 3.5" is quite a lot for human thumbs though!

A stab to the abdomen and a slice upwards would be a devastating wound and likely to hit major blood vessels.

That does work with a rencong hilt. However, with your piece the gripping hand would be much more likely to slip onto the blade (unless you lend support with the second hand - a risky strategy to bet your life on in a brawl, I'm afraid).

Regards,
Kai