Talibon for comment.
 

Greetings all.

I recently acquired this Talibon knife. Being rather ignorant in this area, I wonder if I may ask your assesment of this piece?
(The photos are the sellers)
I am one of those folks who is constantly straying into areas where he knows nothing...and finds such areas Fascinating!
Any help re. age, area, tribe..or anything else interesting would be greatly valued.
Thank you so much for sharing in such a willing manner!

Richard.

I should add, that the blade was covered with a fair amount of peppery rust, but was Very sharp and hard......Usual one-sided bevel, and the blade is 16" long.
Thanks for looking!
R.

These pieces come from the Visayan islands of the middle Philippines. This particular piece to me seems to be after 1900 and before WWII with 2 "X" talismanic marks.

It is always good to ask questions. :)

Thank you for the reply Battara.

Lovely to get an idea of age, and area. It's nice to know it wasn't made yesterday!
The blade has some old rust marks, but In cleaning it a little, it appers to have a definite laminate line close to the cutting edge, and also a few "hot shuts' or whatever in the softer beveled side.

Thanks again for your help!

Richard.

similar pommels can be seen from this old thread.

Miqueldiaz,

Thanks so much for the link! I've saved it as I had not seen it before, and there is a Lot of interesting information in it, and a very nice collection of such knives
Thanks again.
It appears this old knife fits in with the birds-head group, and is a bonny little owl!...I should take a few photos and attache.

To me, it seems a little strange that some of these knives/swords have laminated blades, when an "unlaminated" blade would have worked.
Because these weapons look rather simple, I would have expected the construction of the blade to be simple, and in some cases this is not the case.
Going by the pictures on this link, it appears my knife might be on the older side(?) as the older ones Appear to have closer spaced rattan bands on the scabbards (am I correct?...or is this purely regional?)

Re the scabbard;
It is badly split, with some fairly large pieces missing.
Should I mend it, or make a new one and keep the original as it is?

Thanks so much for your insight!

Richard.

hi richard, glad you found that thread helpful!

am not sure about the spacing of the rattan bands, as it relates to probable age (i.e., am not knowledgeable on the subject). on the scabbard, if i were you i won't replace it as the hidden history behind those old scabbards is what makes them extra special, at least to me (perhaps just repair it? or keeping it as it is may not be bad either). best regards.