Luzon sword for comment
 

This sword recently finished by ebay and I think it is worth for comment and keeping the pictures for later reference. I am not the winner, the seller don't want to ship outside the States. http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-FILIPINO...vip=true&rt=nc

No one?

Hello Detlef, I thought that I would wait to see what the experts had to say before commenting but looks like they are being silent on this one. I am not so sure that this is from the Philippines but maybe from Mexico. The waves on the blade seem to pointed and the bird hilt is also different from anything I have seen (so far) from Luzon.:confused: I have however seen this style of blade work as on late Philippine swords and on some daggers and swords that were made in Mexico. I have also seen this style of hilt on Mexican pieces before. Maybe Jose will comment on the designs on the throat of the scabbard for help in identifying where this was made. Sorry for not being of much help on this very interesting and unusual sword.:o

Best,
Robert

Since my name was mentioned..........

I am not sure what to say about this. I have heard about Luzono swords with thin wavy blades, but never seen one before. The horn is typical for Luzon as well as the tang going through the hilt. Not seen a wavy blade on any Mexican piece before.

However, the floral work is a little different. This may very well be Northern Philippines. but I can't tell you much more than that.

Hello Jose, Glad you saw your name.:D I have more than a few Luzon pieces with wavy blades and have seen quite a few pieces with wavy blades that were clearly marked as being made in Mexico. Horn hilts and tangs that extend through the hilt are also the norm for most Mexican pieces as well as ones from the Philippines. The bird hilt and pointed waves is what makes me wonder if this is truly a Philippine item or not. Do you have any reference to this style of hilt on a Philippine item?


Best,
Robert

Robert - thank you for that information on Mexican bladed weapons.

I have not seen bird carvings like this on Philippine pieces, although I have seen them on Indonesian pieces. This may be Mexican if what you say is true and would explain the style of cross guard and floral patterns on both cross guard and scabbard.

On the other hand, there were centuries of trade between the Philippines and Mexican territories.

hello
I followed the auction but finally I didn,t bid. The style of the guard and sheath are similars of this dagger I bought 2 years ago.
Best regards
carlos
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10062

As far as a Mexican connection in the Philippine goes ;) . Notice the guard style it the same as the other two daggers.


http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lippine+dagger

Hello Lew,
I am not saying that this is not from the Philippines, I was just pointing out a few things about it that make me wonder about it. This could very well be Philippine but just with more Mexican influence than I am used to seeing. What makes me think that this could be a later piece (1940 or later) can be seen in the second picture down from the top that shows how pointed the waves are, which is something that I have seen on quite a few later Philippine pieces. A very interesting piece where ever it is from.

Best,
Robert

This is not my area but I think it is Luzon, even if the hilt is unusual.
Here is a kris with a resembling guard that clearly is not Mexican.

Michael

Hello Michael,
I cannot say for sure without seeing the end of the hilt on your friends sword but I do not think that it is a Luzon piece but more from the Visayans. As for the guard, the people of the Philippines were very resourceful and would re-use all sorts of items. I even have a dagger that has Chinese thimbles being used as ferrules.:D

Best,
Robert

Hello Robert,

Sorry for being unclear - it was the kris from eBay that I thought was from Luzon.
According to the seller (of the eBay kris) the sheath is too small for the blade so maybe it doesn't belong to it?

Michael

Thank you all for this (now) very interesting discussion! I don't know much about Mexican swords but never have seen a waved sword from there. :shrug:
Is someone able to show examples?

Michael, Sorry for misunderstanding what you were saying.:o As for the scabbard, if it was made from un-aged wood it could have shrunk so much that the blade no longer fits. It does however look like it is original to the sword. Like I said, this could very well be from Luzon it is just that I have never seen this grip (bird carving) on a Philippine item before but I have seen this style on items from Mexico as well as wavy blades. I am quite sure that there are numerous styles of Luzon swords, knives and daggers that I haven't seen yet and this could very well be one of them.

Detlef, There have been quite a few wavy bladed daggers listed on epray over the years that were clearly marked as being made in Mexico with horn hilts. I, like you have never seen a wavy bladed sword from Mexico yet but like Philippine items I am positive that I have never seen all the styles that have been made there over the years. Like I said earlier, this could very well be Philippine but just with more Mexican influence than I am used to seeing.

Best,
Robert

.

This is now relisted on ebay.

With a different guard. Should this thread be locked due to the current ebay posting?

Steve

Oh you're right - I missed that part. :o

Interesting that it is nearly identical..........