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Originally Posted by Robert
Everything about this looks like older Philippine work to me "except" the pinning (if it in fact does go through the tang) and the hilt carving. The poor quality of the carving makes me think that if this is Philippine that the hilt was most likely made post WWII as a replacement as everything else looks much older.
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I wouldn't call this a "poor quality" carving Robert. As José suggests, i think "stylized" is a better word. I haven't spent too much time studying this form, but i have seen some of the more realistic depictions of hands on these knives, but i'm not sure that necessarily counts this hilt out as a genuinely old example. It certainly has a very lovely patina that does not look to be artificial to my eyes. Is it possible that some more stylized versions of these hilts were also carved at the time?
I can't be certain without the knife in hand, but the pins look more decorative than functional to me. The ones on the palm of the hand are certainly only decorative which seems to re-enforce the possibility that all the pins are.
