Philippines

[Hombre]

These were bought in the Philippines.
Tourist thing or what? Every information at all should be very much appreciated.

Best,
Stefan
Sweden

[Battara]

These look like forms of Ifugao pinahig to me. Some info can be found here for you:

http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/ifugao/index.html

[Robert]

Hombre, I am by no means an expert on pinahigs, but these look to be made in the traditional style and are not overly decorative so I would guess that they were made to be sold to about anyone who needed a good chopping tool. The first one however has had the monkey skull added to it and I believe that would have been done to make it more attractive to "those who travel". Having the skull added does not necessarily make it exclusively a tourist item and it would be a simple thing to remove it. I'm sure that others members with more knowledge on these can answer your question better and be able to give you more information on these than I have.

Best,
Robert

[Hombre]

Thank you very much for your opinions. I really appreciate it.

Merry Christmas!

Best,
Stefan
Sweden

[JeffS]

..................

[Ian]

Hi Hombre,

These items appear frequently in craft shops in Manila and Makati, and other popular tourist locations.They are aimed at the tourist trade, BUT they are legitimate cultural items. Robert is correct in saying that these items are very usable as tools. The rattan work on the hilts is done by hand, mostly in the traditional manner, and many have tempered blades.

Your example looks recently made.

Ian