Indo Knife for comment

Spunjer · 5th May 2006, 11:08 PM

i believe this is called a tumbuk lada. when i saw pictures of this type of knife before, i was thinking it would be more of a punal size, but evidently, this is a little one.

OAL = 7"
Blade = 5"
Blade widest point = 1/2"

a) what's the purpose of this knife, and,

b) is this a more recent made (for tourist, perhaps), or is it an older one?

looking forward to everyone's comment

RobT · 6th May 2006, 02:21 AM

Hi Spunjer,
I believe the hilt is called tumbak lada (pepper crusher) but I believe the type of blade is a bade bade. The blade looks old and authentic. The hilt, while correctly made, appears to be too big for this particular blade. So it would appear that this is a married piece with the hilt and sheath en suite but with the blade belonging to a separate dress. There is nothing tourist however.
Sincerely,
RobT

Spunjer · 6th May 2006, 03:18 AM

thank you, and good eye, robT! but what gets me is how the blade fits perfectly in the scabbard. also, the handle matches with the throat of the scabbard. do you think this was all done on purpose? also, what's the purpose of this type of knife. it reminds me a lot like a karambit due to its size....

ronpakis · 6th May 2006, 12:40 PM

his spunjer,

these knives are used for stabbing. the more elaborate ones are like the keris a status symbol. It is normal that one might think the handle is to big but these come in alle kinds of shapes. most of the times the little foot , sheath mouth and handle are made of the same material. the wood looks to be very nice. it is difficult to give a age to they are still made today.

greetings sander

RobT · 6th May 2006, 03:25 PM

Hi All,
"It is normal that one might think the handle is to big but these come in alle kinds of shapes." Yes, these hilts do come in all different shapes but I have never seen a hilt that doesn't neck down to be the same diameter as the "ferrule" (actually the base of the blade). This goes for the very similar rentjong knife also. Sometimes there is a pendoko between the hilt and the blade. Perhaps that piece is missing from your blade and if present, would have provided the necessary hilt reduction. That would explain why the blade fits the sheath. By the way, I've heard that the knife is held with the forefinger extended along the spine. I don't know if it's true though.
Sincerely,
RobT

Spunjer · 7th May 2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Sometimes there is a pendoko between the hilt and the blade. Perhaps that piece is missing from your blade and if present, would have provided the necessary hilt reduction.

that would make a lot of sense, robt, for not fitting like it should. also the blade was easily removed from the handle (well, after wiggling it, but it didn't take much...). it's a very stealthy weapon, i must add.

does these type of knives come in different sizes, or are they always this small? ronpakis mentioned that it's a status knife as well, but for its size, it's really hard to show it off..

RobT · 7th May 2006, 05:52 PM

Hi Spunjer,
My largest one (the first antique knife I ever bought) has a 9 1/8" blade and my smallest one has a 6 3/4" blade. My wife has one with a 10" blade. I don't think they come much larger than that. My rentjong has a 9 1/2" blade.
Sincerely,
RobT

ronpakis · 7th May 2006, 06:14 PM

very often these type of knives have large cracks at the base of the handle. many rencongs also quite often have this problem. perhaps somebody made it a little bit shorter because it was dammaged. handle and wranka look as if they are made from the same type of wood.

RobT · 7th May 2006, 07:54 PM

Hi ronpakis,
Not only do the hilt and wranka both appear to be kemmuning they also share the chevron design motif so I think, as I said from the start, that it's pretty likely that the hilt and sheath go together. Since the blade fits the sheath the most probable explanations I can see for the hilt to blade mismatch are either a missing pendok or (as you surmised) a cut down hilt.
Sincerely,
RobT

5th May 2006, 11:08 PM	#1
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Indo Knife for comment i believe this is called a tumbuk lada. when i saw pictures of this type of knife before, i was thinking it would be more of a punal size, but evidently, this is a little one. OAL = 7" Blade = 5" Blade widest point = 1/2" a) what's the purpose of this knife, and, b) is this a more recent made (for tourist, perhaps), or is it an older one? looking forward to everyone's comment Attached Images

6th May 2006, 02:21 AM	#2
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 455	Bade Bade Hi Spunjer, I believe the hilt is called tumbak lada (pepper crusher) but I believe the type of blade is a bade bade. The blade looks old and authentic. The hilt, while correctly made, appears to be too big for this particular blade. So it would appear that this is a married piece with the hilt and sheath en suite but with the blade belonging to a separate dress. There is nothing tourist however. Sincerely, RobT

6th May 2006, 12:40 PM	#4
ronpakis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: netherlands Posts: 75	tumbok or sewar from sumatra his spunjer, these knives are used for stabbing. the more elaborate ones are like the keris a status symbol. It is normal that one might think the handle is to big but these come in alle kinds of shapes. most of the times the little foot , sheath mouth and handle are made of the same material. the wood looks to be very nice. it is difficult to give a age to they are still made today. greetings sander

7th May 2006, 05:52 PM	#7
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 455	Sizes Hi Spunjer, My largest one (the first antique knife I ever bought) has a 9 1/8" blade and my smallest one has a 6 3/4" blade. My wife has one with a 10" blade. I don't think they come much larger than that. My rentjong has a 9 1/2" blade. Sincerely, RobT

7th May 2006, 06:14 PM	#8
ronpakis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: netherlands Posts: 75	hilt to large? or cut down? very often these type of knives have large cracks at the base of the handle. many rencongs also quite often have this problem. perhaps somebody made it a little bit shorter because it was dammaged. handle and wranka look as if they are made from the same type of wood.

6th May 2006, 03:18 AM	#3
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	thank you, and good eye, robT! but what gets me is how the blade fits perfectly in the scabbard. also, the handle matches with the throat of the scabbard. do you think this was all done on purpose? also, what's the purpose of this type of knife. it reminds me a lot like a karambit due to its size....

6th May 2006, 03:25 PM	#5
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 455	Hi All, "It is normal that one might think the handle is to big but these come in alle kinds of shapes." Yes, these hilts do come in all different shapes but I have never seen a hilt that doesn't neck down to be the same diameter as the "ferrule" (actually the base of the blade). This goes for the very similar rentjong knife also. Sometimes there is a pendoko between the hilt and the blade. Perhaps that piece is missing from your blade and if present, would have provided the necessary hilt reduction. That would explain why the blade fits the sheath. By the way, I've heard that the knife is held with the forefinger extended along the spine. I don't know if it's true though. Sincerely, RobT

7th May 2006, 07:54 PM	#9
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 455	Same design Hi ronpakis, Not only do the hilt and wranka both appear to be kemmuning they also share the chevron design motif so I think, as I said from the start, that it's pretty likely that the hilt and sheath go together. Since the blade fits the sheath the most probable explanations I can see for the hilt to blade mismatch are either a missing pendok or (as you surmised) a cut down hilt. Sincerely, RobT