Still on contemporary use of blades among Moros, the Phil. military had a skirmish recently with Moro rebels.
A
newspaper report mentioned this about the Moro leader who was one of the seven Moro casualties:
"Authorities identified the group’s leader [Abdullah Abdurajak] through his kris and .45 cal. pistol, which are known symbols of authority among Muslim groups."
Another newspaper article said that aside from high-powered arms, the soldiers also collected blades from the seven dead Moro rebels.
Looks like blades are still very much in use on both sides ...