Rukai sword problem, need help please!

[Sajen]

Hello,

have recently acquired a Rukai sword. After the sword arrived at the destination was found that the handle isn't original to this blade and was attached to the tang only by a piece of carton which was wrapped around the tang and some wooden pieces which were driven into the hilt near the tang. After the hilt was removed from the blade was found a piece of a tang but this piece was never part of the original tang.
The tang is a little bit to short for this handle so the tang get extended. I know that by Paiwan and also by Rukai swords the tang went complete through the hilt but I never have seen a Rukai knife handle from up so I don't know if the tang is just folded in up like by the few Paiwan knives I've handled before or if the tang is peened in up. The handle has a butt cap in up. Since I want to have this piece of art proper restored I need one or maybe more pictures from a Rukai knife handle as topview to get this very niece knife accurately restored.
I would be more as thankful when members who own such a knife could post such a requested picture. Thank you very much in advance.

Here the seller pictures of this knife.

[Sajen]

Here some pictures of the problem which was found.

The first picture show the removed handle, the second the pieces which was found, the last the butt cap.

[Sajen]

And here the original tang with the other found tang piece.

[Ian]

Ouch ...

Detlef, it looks to me as though you may have a composite of several components, some of which may not be very old. The hilt and all of its stuffing (including the stray piece of iron) look to me that they did not come with the sword originally. It's hard to tell how well the blade fits the wooden sheath, which might indicate that it too is an unrelated marriage. And the blade itself looks rather thin for these knives.

These have now become very desirable and quite expensive, so much so that I imagine unscrupulous people would be quite happy to throw a few unrelated pieces together and try to pass it off as original. I hope that is not the case here, but you should be able to tell when you have it in hand.

Good luck!

Ian.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Ouch ...

Detlef, it looks to me as though you may have a composite of several components, some of which may not be very old. The hilt and all of its stuffing (including the stray piece of iron) looks to me that they did not come with the sword originally. It's hard to tell how well the blade fits the wooden sheath, which might indicate that it too is an unrelated marriage. And the blade itself looks rather thin for these knives.

These have now become very desirable and quite expensive, so much so that I imagine unscrupulous people would be quite happy to through a few unrelated pieces together and try to pass it off as original. I hope that is not the case here, but you should be able to tell when you have it in hand.

Good luck!

Ian.

Hello Ian,

I am and also an other member are very sure that all components are old/antique. The blade fits the scabbard very well, at the one picture where it seems that the blade is to short for the scabbard the blade isn't pulled down until the end of the scabbard. The pictures are from the seller.
But you are correct that the seller through the handle and the rest together, so the only problem is that the handle isn't original to the blade including scabbard. Blade including scabbard are for sure Rukai as the handle also.
And I am very sure that the tang by Paiwan swords is folded in up from the handle but I don't know it exactly from Rukai swords, this is what I want to know.
At end of the restauration you will have an old Rukai sword, nobody would have known without this thread that handle and blade are not an old marriage.

Regards,
Detlef

[Rick]

Looks to me like you want to weld an extension onto the existing tang with mild steel, shape it to length and taper; re-insert and peen the new tang end over .