Ceylonese kastane
length: 29"
This isn't exactly a whatsit - I know exactly what this is - but it's being
posted here because my friend Conogre asked for closeup pictures of the
demon head on a kastane so that he could repair one in his collection.
This is a Ceylonese kastane with a Dutch East Indies trade blade dated 1768.
The smugly superior Europeans would hand these out to native officials, who
would have the local hilts and guards attached. This is one of the very few
items in my collection that actually has a date of manufacture stamped into
the blade - would that they all did! (or maybe not, since then identifying
mystery weapons wouldn't be nearly as much fun.) Yes, I know the guard has a
bit of rust on it. I'll kill it, don't worry.
blade: 24"
blade width: 1"
grip: 4 1/4"
guard: 3" x 3 1/2"
weight: 15 oz