Kris in Wales

That's pretty damn amazing.
 
I never found anything like that fishing--heck, I am lucky to even find fish. English and Scandinavian rivers turn up the most amazing things.
 
DocJD said:
:) Very cool ! But I thought a kris was wiggly , always ? o_O
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Straight is common, on both Indonesian and Philippine krisses. There are even half-wiggly ones, with a few gentle waves at the base of the blade, and the distal half is straight. Some nice krisses can be seen at http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/philippines.swords.htm

This particular one is Moro (i.e., Philippine), and probably from about 1900. The 18th century ones are usually smaller, and more tapered. I haven't seen many that old, but all of the 18th century Moro krisses I've seen have been wiggly.
 
Timo Nieminen said:
Straight is common, on both Indonesian and Philippine krisses. There are even half-wiggly ones, with a few gentle waves at the base of the blade, and the distal half is straight. Some nice krisses can be seen at http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/philippines.swords.htm

This particular one is Moro (i.e., Philippine), and probably from about 1900. The 18th century ones are usually smaller, and more tapered. I haven't seen many that old, but all of the 18th century Moro krisses I've seen have been wiggly.
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:) Thanks ! Fascinating . Nice link . Those " Kampilans " have a little tooth (or maybe symbolic tongue) at the very end of the blade . Maybe acted like a saw tooth or serration ? Don't recall seeing that before . :cool:
 
The purpose - whether functional or purely symbolic - of the kampilan spike has been lost over time. Some claim it's for blocking or trapping an opponent's blade, others claim it's for stopping overpenetration on a thrust. I don't believe either (in principle, stopping overpenetration would make sense, but a kampilan isn't a thrusting sword). Decorative and/or talismanic.

It won't do anything significant when cutting with a kampilan. Some have it, and some don't. Clearly not essential. (However, at least some of the spike-less kampilans out there originally had, and it was broken off.

A photo with my super-spiky kampilan:
vZZtUPo.jpg

(I have another without a spike.)
 
Timo Nieminen said:
The purpose - whether functional or purely symbolic - of the kampilan spike has been lost over time. Some claim it's for blocking or trapping an opponent's blade, others claim it's for stopping overpenetration on a thrust. I don't believe either (in principle, stopping overpenetration would make sense, but a kampilan isn't a thrusting sword). Decorative and/or talismanic.

It won't do anything significant when cutting with a kampilan. Some have it, and some don't. Clearly not essential. (However, at least some of the spike-less kampilans out there originally had, and it was broken off.

A photo with my super-spiky kampilan:
vZZtUPo.jpg

(I have another without a spike.)
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Very cool ! Your photo shows it better . I see holes near the spike , maybe to fasten some decoration or ?
 
The holes are often filled with brass plugs (one of the kampilans in the History of Steel exhibition linked above has silver plugs). Here's one example with some holes filled, and some holes left empty:
taraca4.jpg

http://1-22infantry.org/history3/taraca.htm

Here's one with plugged holes:
AN01399044_001_l.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear..._object_details.aspx?objectId=558731&partId=1

Similar brass plugs are common on mandau blades:
AN01399111_001_l.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear..._object_details.aspx?objectId=570303&partId=1

Note the resemblance between the profile of the tips of the last two swords above. There's some common influence between them.
 
:) Thanks Timo ! That's pretty wild and intriguing . I can't imagine a purely functional reason . o_O

Holes might produce a sound ? But filled holes could only serve a decorative / magical purpose , I imagine .:cool:
 
DocJD said:
:) Thanks Timo ! That's pretty wild and intriguing . I can't imagine a purely functional reason . o_O

Holes might produce a sound ? But filled holes could only serve a decorative / magical purpose , I imagine .:cool:
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That's exactly it: decorative/magical. Many people say that the filled holes in mandau blades are to keep score, one per head taken (the Dayaks were headhunters, until it mostly stopped in the late 19th century). At most, that was once true, but it hasn't been for a long time - newly made mandau, never used, often have brass plugs. Might never have been true.

For those who use/believe, "magical" is functional. And it really works. If somebody has a talismanic engraving that's meant to protect them in combat, they'll be less affected by stress in combat, will fight better, and can win as a result.

I don't recall seeing a Moro kris with brass plugs, but I've seen a few with talismanic engravings.
 
Timo Nieminen said:
That's exactly it: decorative/magical. Many people say that the filled holes in mandau blades are to keep score, one per head taken (the Dayaks were headhunters, until it mostly stopped in the late 19th century). At most, that was once true, but it hasn't been for a long time - newly made mandau, never used, often have brass plugs. Might never have been true.

For those who use/believe, "magical" is functional. And it really works. If somebody has a talismanic engraving that's meant to protect them in combat, they'll be less affected by stress in combat, will fight better, and can win as a result.

I don't recall seeing a Moro kris with brass plugs, but I've seen a few with talismanic engravings.
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:) So the holes may have originally been like in the Old West (USA) gunslingers that carved notches in their guns for each kill , or the tally marks on the sides of fighter plane cockpits etc . Used to keep score but also to intimidate .

And , yes magic does work and is very much used everywhere although some will try to deny they're doing it ! :rolleyes:
 
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