new Barong
 

I got it at a steal of a price... can I anyone tell me anything about this barong?

It's semi-faulty description read as:

"#2 Antique moro display leaf blade with wall metal hook up. This was found in a garage of a estate house sale in National City. The bolo is in very good shape, handle is made from metal with a carved wood? 19 inches inches long, metal blade 15 inches. Heavy display sword, dasty and rusty, needed cleaning. Sold as found."

It seems pretty good. The wooden handle is beautiful with a thin crack. The ferrule is wiggly and rotates, but when I swing it, and sometimes I swung it hard, the blade did not wiggle one bit. The blade has several little dings and chips. It has a very thin layer of rust on it, and I'm not sure if that's ok, but my gut feeling tells me it'll be fine as long as it don't get wet. It's blade is about 13 or 14" long, but I don't have a ruler. Edge is thin. Blade seems to have a slight concavity in the heart of it, below the spine, and above the edge where it thickens slightly. However it doesn't seem to be a shandigan. Seems good quality to me, maybe worth a restoration and a sheath made for it.

The photos don't quite do it justice.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9797/barong21.jpg


Thanks for any comments, info, or advice :)

Hi Kukulz,

nice good barong, at first I would remove the rust; maybe it has a surprise for you! ;)

sajen

definitely remove any active rust. #0000 steel wool and dishwashing soap might do the trick. otherwise, that's a nice barung!

yeah, and try etching it...

Very nice !
I have his little brother @ 12 inches blade length . :D

Would this be a typical Parang Barong from Sulu? From the little I know it doesn't seem to be like those found in Palawan or Sabah. The quality of the wood makes me think that it must have been for a wealthier warrior, and Sulu, if I'm not mistaken, became a regional power during its wars against the Spanish. How old do you guys think this is? I know that more recent barongs tend to have more... blocky carvings? The older ones seem to have more elegant and thinner carvings. The Sabah kinds tend to be more machete-like in their use and tend to have very minimal kakatuas... I don't know how much can be discovered based on it's handle and pommel... :shrug:

Would a restoration (i.e. new sheath, filling in the partly hollow handle where the wood is disintegrated, and fixing the thin crack) be good for this? I know some collectors consider a piece to sometimes be better left as is... I'm no collector, I'm a user, and while I don't intend to use this guy at this point, I don't like broken things.... any opinions on whether a new lease on life is appropriate?

definitely an older barung, sulu, 19th c. handle is bunti. as far as if it was owned by a wealthier moro, it's hard to say. perhaps. if you have the book Moro Swords by cato, and turn to page 6, there's a gentleman, second to left posing with his barung. tho it looks ordinary and not the junggayan type, it's still a datu's barung, considering that gentleman is the brother of the sultan.
as far as fixing it, this thread might help you out...

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=barong

I was watching this Barong also but did not bid on it. Nice catch at a very good price! I think everyone was more concentrated on the other barong w/ Ivory hilt the seller had up for auction and that ended around the same time as yours(the Ivory Barong sold for over $1200US and was in the same shape). I think it kinda pulled everyones attention away from yours. hehe :D

Thanks man, I will check that out. Was bunti wood common for all barongs or only more expensive types? Regardless it is beautiful!

Yea I noticed! Thank goodness for me, hard to get a cheaper barong these days what with people goin' crazy over 'em! I blame kali and eskrima getting popularity worldwide and making more and more people aware of and in love with Kris, barongs, and other sandata. :shrug: :D ;)

bunti was fairly common due to its beauty and availability. there are junggayan types that are made with bunti as well. the rarer types are kamagong, ivory, and in batara's case, a mastodon's molar. or silver even...

Here some info on Bunti wood.

http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publication...k/kamuning.pdf

It is interesting that these types of wood with nice figured grains were popular way back in that era in remote areas of the world. And even now in todays wood making world, figurative wood like burl and curly maple are expensive and highly sought after. The Moros had good taste and were trendy. :D