robert, thanks for sharing the pics and the probable history of the bolo! (and i for one will always be excited at looking at your bolo pics).
i too am of the opinion that it is from the phil-am war era.
i just came from the boondocks of
cebu island in central philippines. i was able to interview the heirs of
pulahan 'insurgents' who fought the americans the longest during the said war. the old folks i interviewed were the very grandchildren of the pulahan 'rebels' vic hurley wrote about in
jungle patrol.
if somebody from cebu normal university is reading this, thanks by the way for the kind assistance in making the research possible.
during the trip i was able to see: (a) a new cebu sundang [see pic of the lone blade i'm holding]; (b) several antique sundangs [the trio, plus the one on the waist of the old lady], and (c) an antique talibong of the same age as "b" [am still thinking whether i can show the pic, as they were wary initially of showing it to me, being an outsider].
but first, a word on terminologies of phil. swords, which tend to get confusing always (and this list below pertains just to central cebu highlands, as other regions may have minor variations in their use of the terms) --
sundang - refers to any work bolo that one carries everyday for work to the field
(and
bolo is a generic term for any philippine utility blade or war sword, especially those found in northern philippines [commonly called 'luzon')] and in central philippines [a group of many islands commonly called the 'visayas'])
pinuti or
talibong or
sabli (these three are the same) - refers to the same basic bolo design as the sundang, but the piece is kept inside the house, for use in case of conflicts only
pinuti's [pee-NOO-tee] root word is
puti [poo-TEE], or white. and it's called pinuti because the blade's entire surface is always polished and the blade always kept sharp, being a prized possession.
talibong [TAH-lee-bong, as in gong] is derived from the word to kill or destroy, as far as i recall when i checked an online cebuano dictionary.
sabli [SAHB-lee] is derived from the spanish word for saber,
sable.
based on the samples i saw, the difference between a sundang and a pinuti/talibong/sabli (p/t/s) are - (a) the sundang is always a little shorter; (b) the sundang's cutting edge is the only one that is 'white' (i.e., shiny), while for a p/t/s, the whole blade glistens, thus 'pinuti', or literally made white and shiny; (c) even though a p/t/s is very old, it still looks fresh compared to a sundang of the same age, and that's because the p/t/s is not exposed to the elements and not often used; and (d) the p/t/s's hilt and scabbard are much more ornately carved than a sundang.
i guess i'm going all over the place
but back to the topic on assessing a sword's age based on external appearance, i have no doubt as to lew's and to the others' skill in making an assessment.
my only point is that if the sword is well-kept and based on my recent personal observations, a very old philippine sword can indeed maintain its almost pristine look when it is looked after very well.
i always remember what nonoy tan told me when he was allowed to take a look at the smithsonian's antique bolo collection. nonoy said that if one didn't know anything about when the sword was collected, one would be fooled into thinking that they were all recently made.