SCARCE**UNUSUAL**WW2 Burma Campaign British Chindit Special Forces, Fighting Knife / Machete With Barong Blade & British Military Form Leather Scabbard. Sn 21889 Other Blades

**SCARCE**UNUSUAL**WW2 Burma Campaign British Chindit Special Forces, Fighting Knife / Machete With Barong Blade & British Military Form Leather Scabbard. Sn 21889 21889

The Chindits – officially in 1943 designated the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade and in 1944, the 3rd Indian Infantry Division was a British "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in WW2. The barong is a thick, leaf-shaped, single-edged blade sword. It is a weapon used by Muslim Filipino ethnolinguistic groups like the Tausug, Sama-Bajau, or Yakan in the Southern Philippines. This is an original scarce & unusual Chindit combat Machete with barong blade (locally made knives saw much use in WW2 see page 117 of British & Commonwealth Military Knives by Flook). As is common with these knives there were many variants and had no manufacturer or date marks. Our example has an undamaged solid Tropical hardwood handle, curved for grip and secured to the tang by 2 rivets. It has a heavy Barong, leaf shaped blade which has just areas of staining consistent with tropical war service. The blade is 11 ¾” long, 2” broad at its widest and the spine is 5mm thick. There is just one small chip to the cutting edge consistent with service use. The blade is sharp. The hilt has a brass ferrule. The original British military grade leather scabbard has quality stitched edges and has a single belt loop to the rear of the scabbard. The scabbard has a leather retaining strap with buckle fastener. The leather is neatly cut for a length of 2 ¼” near the throat consistent with the blade being holstered and withdrawn from the scabbard during war service, the cut is stable and may have been made purposely by the Chindit who carried it to allow the machete to be drawn quickly. The leather is clean and supple and all stitching intact. The price for this rare, unusual form Chindit machete includes UK delivery. Sn 21889 (in FS box) **NB This item was found together with stock number Sn 21890 WW2 Chindit Fighting Knife which is available separately on this website**.

£495