Unusual old knife, origin unknown???

[wildwolberine]

Just added this unusual old knife to my collection. I would certainly appreciate any insight into its origins! I think it has characteristics of knives from northern Luzon but the hilt is an unusual shape. Appears to be missing a ferrule. Old, worn scabbard with a single rattan band remaining. Blade has a rounded tip and certainly shows a lot of wear.

[Battara]

The carvings look Visayan to me, but the blade isn't.

Could also be Formosan.

[ausjulius]

Just added this unusual old knife to my collection. I would certainly appreciate any insight into its origins! I think it has characteristics of knives from northern Luzon but the hilt is an unusual shape. Appears to be missing a ferrule. Old, worn scabbard with a single rattan band remaining. Blade has a rounded tip and certainly shows a lot of wear.

Can we see the spine of the blade? How thick is it,? , what is the blade edge profile like? Single beveled or doubly beveled?

[werecow]

Kind of reminds me of the Bhutanese short swords with the open scabbards. Probably just convergent evolution but can't help but wonder if there's a connection there.

[wildwolberine]

Can we see the spine of the blade? How thick is it,? , what is the blade edge profile like? Single beveled or doubly beveled?

Of course! The blade is about 5mm at the hilt. The blade’s very rough and beaten-up, but it seems to have a double bevel. It actually curves forward slightly, with the spine in front of the rounded tip about in line with the center of the hilt.

[wildwolberine]

The carvings look Visayan to me, but the blade isn't.

Could also be Formosan.

Thanks! I thought Formosa could be a possibility.

[wildwolberine]

Kind of reminds me of the Bhutanese short swords with the open scabbards. Probably just convergent evolution but can't help but wonder if there's a connection there.

Very interesting! I can see the resemblance with the hilts.

[Tim Simmons]

Or Tibetan.

[Ian]

A Himalayan origin (or thereabouts) might be revealed by cleaning and etching the laminated blade. A "hairpin" pattern would be fairly conclusive, if present. The scabbard might also be a mismatch.

[Tim Simmons]

Very similar.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21456&highlight=tibetan+knife

[Rafngard]

How well does the scabbard fit the blade?
The scabbard (which looks very SE Asian to me) looks like significantly longer than the blade.
Like Ian, I'm wondering if they weren't born together?

Thanks,
Leif