Hunting Short Sword
or Klewang
Swords such as this were manufactured in the Dutch East Indies. This particular one is out of Kabupaten Sumedang, east of Bandung. This one is referred to as a Tjikeroeh Klewang and is dated 1910.
Very similar to European "Hunting Swords" and/or Imperial German "Forestry Service Hangers" of the period. May actually be considered a knife, but has all the qualifications of a short-sword. Sword is crudely made - when compared to the quality of items made in the European edged weapon centers (such as Solingen) - and is typical of the quality of similar items from Russian in the same era.
Particulars of the bottom-most sword are as follows:
Overall length, in scabbard, is ~22-1/4";
Sword/hanger, out of scabbard, is ~21-1/4" in length;
Hilt is ~5-3/8" in length - not including clamshell langet on front of crossguard.
Crossguard and pommel are made of brass; grip ferrule - between crossguard and grip - is made of an undetermined white thin sheet-metal. Crossguard is ~3-1/2" wide wide with rouneded "tear-drop" finials. Pommel has a ball finial, which serves to hold the grip onto the blade tang. One-piece grip is made of stag-horn; 3 brass "buttons" are attached to grip, obverse (right side).
Straight single-edged "bowie-type" blade is ~16" in length, ~1-7/16" wide at ricasso, swelling to 1-5/8" just before clipped-point and false-edge. Very-light scattered surface oxide, otherwise bright blade; unsharpened. Fullered groove is ~8 in length beginning ~1-1/2" from crossguard and ending ~6-1/2" from tip. Fuller is engraved with two distinct patterns; ricasso is engraved with "Cyrillic" writing (or so I thought); this example is dated "1910".
Scabbard is ~16-3/4" in length and ~2-3/8" at the throat; two-piece wood construction, painted black. Thin white sheet-metal throat, drag type unknown. Scabbard may have had an outer protective covering at some time.
