Dagger from a newbie

[vantique]

:D Hi, All!

I'm the new kid in town and sure could use your expertise on this one.
Any ideas on replacing the handle, guys?
By the way, the "K" has a thinner diagonal mark across it, which could
be a mistake on the part of the inscriber???

[fernando]

Hi vantique, welcome to the forum.
Nice piece; looks old ... late 18th century?
Grip could be either wood or bone ... even ivory? Not the skin wrapping type, i would say.
Perhaps trying to find its origin, before deciding the ideal material for the grip?
I wonder if it is a Western piece.
Let's see what other members say about it.
... Also you should try and post a close up picture of the marking. That K is hardly visible; even harder to figure out what is across it.

[Atlantia]

Hi Vantique.
Welcome to the forum.
Could the dagger be Philippine?

[Battara]

I wonder if it is "K" for katipunan, a Filipino secret movement and society that formed to free the Philippines from Spanish around the late 19c. What also leads me to this supposition is that the "K" is inside a triangle, another symbol of the society. This might be early. It would have a Spanish influenced style in form. Shame the handle material is missing, probably made of horn.

Nice early piece. Thank you for sharing and welcome to our little forum! :D

[Robert]

Hello Vantique, and welcome to the forum. I would definitly agree that this is a Philippine dagger and as Jose pointed out possibly Katipunan. Seeing as the markings are on the blade and not the scabbard I would also agree that this is an early piece. As the markings would only be seen when the dagger was unsheathed it could possibly have been used as a means of identification. By the shape of the hilt fittings I would suggest it could have had a grip of this shape and buffalo horn construction.

Robert

[VANDOO]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM :)
IT WOULD APPEAR SOMEONE WAS PLANNING TO REPLACE THE OLD HANDLE BUT DIDN'T GET AROUND TO IT. THE GOOD THING IS ALL THE PARTS ARE THERE AND WITH A LITTLE MEASURING YOU CAN FIT THE HANDLE TO THE TWO METAL PARTS JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL. WATER BUFFALOW HORN WOULD BE NICE AND A SUITABLE PIECE OF IT SHOULD BE FOUND EASY ENOUGH. GOOD LUCK

[vantique]

Hi, Guys, it's great to be here. Thank you for the warm welcome and swift replies. Silly me for asking about the handle replacement before its origins.
:o :o . I'm really dying for an I.D.!!! Here is a reverse color close-up of the "K". Any more information would be greaatt!!!! Thanks again

[Atlantia]

Hi Vantique,

I suspected it was Philippine, but Robert and Jose have confirmed and Robert has provided an example of what it would look like with the handle.
It might be an idea to post a wanted ad in the swap section as I'm sure someone will have a section of black horn that you could modify to suit.
Then follow Roberts example as a guide.
Nice dagger BTW.

Best
Gene

[carlos]

Beautiful dagger!! I´m trying to imagine this dagger very much year ago... :p :shrug: :p I´m sure all us want to have one daggar like this!!
congratulations
carlos

[vantique]

Thank you, guys. Fernando, Atlantia - Gene, Battara, Robert, Vandoo and Carlos, you've all made my day.
:D :)

Stay well.

vince