art-of-swords:

Unique Hudiedao Swords 

• Dated: 19th century
• Culture: Southern China/Burma
• Measurements: 56cms overall in the scabbard and are 49cms overall out of the scabbard

At close viewing of these blades, it is clear they have been made for an individual of great wealth or status. The timber and bone hilt slabs have been expertly carved and are pinned through the tang with brass pins that have been finished off with circle motifs. These pins not only help secure the slabs to the hilt but also hold 3 silver “menuki” style emblems and the hilt also has 2 Taoist coin inserts pierced to the outer wood slab between these.

The knuckle guard is iron that has a lanyard ring to the base, flowers and vines to the outside of the guard and the quillon is filed and chiseled to the end and is what appears to be a stylized dragon. The tang apart from being pinned through the hilt, is also peened to the base and shaped expertly around the lanyard ring. The blades are needle pointed and razor sharp, double fullered to both sides and the fullers are surrounded by circle and half circle symbolism.

The blades are fully pierced at both ends of the fullers and have Taoist coin symbols inserted into there piercings. The spines of both blades show expert filing patterns of almost every conceivable pattern and starts in a domed cross section and changes to a beveled cross section as it approaches the tip. Both are housed in a wonderfully crafted timber sheath that is decorated in eleven sheets of silver and four silver rings, all of varying design not typical by Hudiedao standards at all.

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