[Ian]

Robert:

I believe the original item of discussion here is most probably a tenegre from the western Visayas, probably Panay, and almost certainly of Ilongo manufacture.

As such, the choice of hilts would most likely be the traditional little daemon fella, or the stylized version of it that Zelbone once described as a "chicken head" (based on the use of that description by a local Visayan).

Here is a picture that Zel posted some time ago. The center one looks similar to your example and that would probably be a reasonable hilt for it. I think it was probably a working bolo but it could be used as a weapon too.

[BTW I see quite a few recent references to Bicol knives and swords on the site. Many of these look like Visayan pieces to me and I am having difficulty reconciling a Bicol origin for them. While I can see some diffusion of styles might occur into Bicol, these recent discussions remind me of similar discussions about 10 years ago when the distinction between Visayan and Batangan knives was a lively topic. Zelbone (in particular) and Laban Tayo were helpful in sorting some of that out. I think we need a little more discussion on the Bicol knives, with some solid historical evidence to indicate the styles of knives and swords there. The descriptions of eBay sellers are notoriously unreliable.]

Ian.