Strange Shaped Luzon Bolo
 

Hi All

I picked this up in trade last week let me know what you think?

I like it. It shares some design elements with one of mine.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1516

Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ConvexSide.jpg

Steve

Yours does look like a close cousin to mine. :)


Lew

The bolo arrived today the blade is quite thick and it is flat on one side.

I was wondering about that. Style of the blade reminds me of something Visayan. Now even more so.....

Nice looking piece. I am curious about the sharpened back edge near the tip. This is something I associate in my mind as a "fighting blade" attribute (couldn't think of a better reason for it). Is this correct or is there a utilitarian function for this that anyone is aware of?

Mayhem is the only purpose that I see for this bolo .

Machetes are not used with a backhand stroke AFAIK . :shrug:

I think that it has the curve and dip of a talibon/garab... but not the same blade style

I have held and used blades with that shape, and they are great for cutting through material thanks to the down-pointing crescent curve. The sharp back-edge gives it a fanning backhand motion as an option in a fight... but it's not all that useful for agricultural or wilderness survival stuff. As Rick and t_c say and I agree, it looks like it's intended for or has some specialized features for fighting. Interestingly it reminds me of some Luzon bolos I have seen in style, but it has that talibon dip... however, it does not have the enlarge belly that many talibon/garab have. Perhaps that makes it less weighty and allows the user to strike faster with it... ?

I'm not expert in knife-fighting and have not practiced any Arnis/Eskrima... just some thoughts