Unique Kampillan
 

I bought this kampillan in an auction late last year. It was photographed with the blade's edge up so it had the look of a more typical kampillan profile. However, studying the pics carefully showed the edge was turned up which made this a very unusual kampillan when the edge would be turned downward as is more typical.

I assumed it was a cut-down kampillan blade, perhaps cut-down at the spine's spike. I am still not 100% sure it is not a cut-down blade, but having seen it up close there is less reason to think that.

The blade has an inserted edge, quite unusual for Moro weapons, and the edge can be seen just barely turning upwards toward the tip. I am not sure I have seen inserted edges on any other Moro blades, though I am rather sure they exist. I wondered if the blade was forged somewhere else, perhaps with more expertise in this style of forging.

It makes for more of a 'saber-like' blade. It is perfectly balanced and razor-sharp. You can see how fragile the inserted edge is where it is damaged because it doesn't have bent knicks, but slight, broken ones.

The sword feels quite good in hand, and the hilt is quite nice as well. The hair is restored. The coins are dated 1908 and 1914.

Comments welcomed.

Dimensions:
Overall length: 35in.
Blade length: 24in.
Blade's widest point: 1.75in.

Hello Charles,

Thanks for another oddity!

I seem to remember several kampilan with pretty narrow exposed edges. Are you referring to inserted edges as apposed to a fully stacked construction (aka san mai)?

If this edge extends all the way up to the tip, it is either inserted and the original construction or, if the tip got fully revamped, it really is of san mai construction...

How thick is the blade near the hilt?

Regards,
Kai

I see what you mean Charles. The top part of the blade where holes are show remnants of the original holes. I agree with the assertion that part of the blade was damaged and thus cut away.

In the pictures you can see a bold and very clear line of demarcation. It is close to the edge which could be the result of years of sharpening. Look at all the edge nicks. The steel is cleanly flaked off and not crumpled or bent. This blade appears to be San Mai construction which is a hard steel core with softer steel cheeks. An inserted edge if you will. There is some cloudiness above the demarcation line that is probably from the heat treatment. If it was just a folded blade that had a heat treated edge you would only have the darkened zone along the edge but not such a strong and defined line of demarcation.

Regarding "inserted edge" and "san mei", I believe we are all talking about the same thing.

Battarra,

You have lost me on the "holes". There are no holes or remnants of holes anywhere on the blade. Perhaps you are looking at the edge as the spine and seeing the broken pieces there, and perhaps thinking they were remnants of old holes, but keep in mind that is the edge, not the spine. :shrug:

H :eek: LY CRAP!

You're right. I thought that was the spine. Now this makes more sense.

I think Kai was making the point, that if the blade had three layers in a sandwich form (san mai), then it is possible that the blade was reshaped. Any configuration would show different steel at the edge. On the other hand, an inserted edge that runs to the tip implies that the blade is in its original form. A thin inserted edge would be lost on a reshaped tip.

To me, this looks like an inserted edge rather than sandwich construction because of the very distinct line. San mai tends to have a smoother transition between the body and the edge. Another way to tell is to look at the spine. A true sandwich construction should show a line there.

With everything else said, I notice the blade is rather short for a typical Kampilan.

I see this as a confirmation the blade was reshaped into this.

Hello Marius,

While this kampilan may be on the lower range of traditional sizes, it is not so short that this can be taken as proof of a shortened blade IMHO.

Regards,
Kai