Kalasan
A type of Batak sword
A Karo Batak kalasan sword
An almost textbook example of a silver-plated kalasan.
Toba Batak sword
With cast-bronze guarding figure hilt.
Parapat
The sword of the Murut, headhunters of northern Borneo.
Pakayun
Commonly used name for the sword of the Muruts, headhunters of northern Borneo.
Glupa / Gloepa
Acehnese word for a golden crown at the base of swords and daggers.
Sikin panjang with golden crown
In original condition and period finish. Some losses, no repairs.
Lóngquán (龍泉)
A town in Zhejiang province, China, known as a sword making center.
Peudeueng
An Acehnese type of saber
Hindu basket hilt
A type of Indian closed hilt design.
Signed húdiédāo set
Of military style with long, narrow blades and ribbed hardwood grips.
Lóngquán Daoist shuāngjiàn
A very good set of Daoist straightswords in a single scabbard. There is a lot to see here, but I will start with the blades.
A sawasa hunting hanger
Sawasa is a copper-gold alloy that was patinated a "raven black" and then highlights were parcel-gilt.
A Chinese headman's sword
Of rare form with short but very heavy double-edged blade.
Unusual Indian zulfiqar sword
With bifurcated S-shaped blade in talwar hilt.
Qing fangshi soldier's saber
A rare surviving example of the simple military version of this style.
Wakizashi in Burmese hilt
An unusual cross-cultural mix, blending Burmese, Japanese and Indian parts.
Wootz talwar with pierced scabbard
With fine gold overlaid hilt, tight-grained wootz blade and elaborately pierced scabbard.
Shamshir (شمشیر)
Persian word for a deeply curved sword with narrow blade.
Shikārgar
Word used for an Indian sword with hunting scenes.
Talwar with Mamluk style blade
In Punjabi style hilt, with elaborately chiseled blade.
A Palembang sword with British blade
With finely carved horn hilt, silver mounts and reshaped European blade.
Kirach (کرچ)
Urdu
Kirć (किर्च) / kirić (किरिच)
Hindi name for a type of slightly curved sword with concave edged.
A kirach with hunting scenes
Its blade pattern-welded and chiseled with designs of hunters and animals.
Fine Ottoman yatağan dated 1809
Made by a maker called Noah in 1809 for a certain Mehemmed Ağa Fî. With beautiful golden overlays on blade.
Yatağan
A type of Ottoman sword with a distinct eared hilt and recurved blade.
Yatağan dated 1790-1791
An old warhorse with several repairs.
Indian pata with Solingen blade
With a blade of 17th-century European manufacture, with trader's name on it.
Pipe-back saber
A distinctive type of European military saber, used from the early 19th to early 20th century.
French sword for the King of Siam
With a Parisian blade carrying the royal emblem of King Rama IV.
Unusual Taiwanese sword
With a straight blade of asymmetrical grind and a strongly Chinese inspired scabbard.
On weight and balance
In researching antique arms -or any kind of material culture for that matter- it is of paramount importance to actually feel and handle pieces.
Very good hudiedao set
With fine carved hilts, substantial bronze D-guards, and subtle signs of heat treatment on the blades.
Mata-djoh
Long Way Dayak word for a type of decoration consisting of S-shaped ornaments.
Tap-set-sien
Long Way Dayak word for a type of decoration seen on mandau blades.
Mata kalong
Long Way Dayak word for a type of decoration seen on mandau blades.
Li-po-tong
Long Way Dayak word for a type of mandau tip.
Lidjib
Long Way Dayak word for a type of mandau tip.
Longna
Long Way Dayak word for a type of mandau tip.
Monong
Long Way Dayak name for a type of mandau tip.
Leng
Long Way Dayak word for a variety of mandau.
Parang ilang
Widely used name for a hollow-ground Indonesian headhunter sword. (A.k.a. mandau).
A fine Kayan mandau
With less common wooden hilt and elaborately inlaid blade in brass, copper and silver.
A Kenyah mandau
The famous sidearm of the headhunters of Borneo.
Mandau
Popular name for the common sword of Borneo.
Talwar hilted shamshir
With a very fine Persian blade of "brilliant black" wootz.
Mala (माला)
Hindi for the lap welds seen on swords.
Lahore talwar hilted shamshir
Persian wootz shamshir in a talwar hilt from Lahore.