Identifying Pacific edged weapons
 

My father's brother collected some interesting blade-weapons during the war in the Pacific. They came to me, and are being passed down to my nephews. And they want to know more about them than I do. Who can blame them? My expertises lie elsewhere!

In any case, there are four of them. One is a Japanese cavalry saber, one a wakizashi, one some kind of kris(?) and one completely unidentified. I've put up a gallery on my web site, http://washuu.net/Swords.htm , with larger and more numerous photos. Below are a few:

http://washuu.net/Swords/Saber01.jpg

http://washuu.net/Swords/Kris03.jpg

http://washuu.net/Swords/Betel01.jpg

http://washuu.net/Swords/Short03.jpg

The swords in these pictures are still coated with WWII cosmoline protective grease. Always ask questions before doing anything, even cleaning!

And so - I'm asking. What do I have, and what do I do/say about it?

Ellen

The third one is a talibon from the Philippines. I am sure someone here will be able to tell you a great deal about the kris.

I would say that the kris is a WWII Sulu kris with white metal baka-baka clamps, though a jeweler can test for sure.