Jan, i am not sure why exactly you found the need to reply to Rick's post so defensively and full of anger. Apparently something he said triggered you in some way, but your reply seems just a bit reactionary to me. Nowhere does he tell you what you must do or think. He merely made a friendly suggestion.
On Cato, i certainly agree that this book is not in any way the end all on Moro weapons. It leaves many unanswered question, has holes in it's research and the photos aren't very detailed or well printed for reference. It is, however, to my understanding, the
only book (certainly in English) that
specifically concentrates on Moro blades. That said it is indeed lacking on many levels, but IMO it is also worth owning for anyone interested in Moro weapons. It is the work that breaks the ground for all discussion that is to follow. Of course Moro swords, or the weapons of any culture, cannot be studied in a vacuum, so it is imperative that we look to many sources of reference to fill in our understanding. Yes, there is much written material on the Moros themselves and these texts do make mention here and there to their weapons, but they do not concentrate on the subject. Cato's book is just a start. Rick suggested that you spend some time in our archives because you are new here, not because he is making assumptions about your level of knowledge or learning. He is not telling you what you "must" do (he never used that word), simply what you can do to further research this subject. These weapons have been a strong and heated subject of conversation in this forum for many years, with the accumulated knowledge of many well versed members adding to our knowledge base and that of Cato. Rick was merely suggesting that you spend some time with our archives if you find the information in Cato lacking because in his opinion (and mine) we have far surpassed Cato with some of the research that has been posted here in our understanding (...and it would take quite some time to sift through all our threads on Moro blades. You say you "looked into" them, but there is no way you could have really studied them as that would literally take many days of reading. A search for "Moro" brings up 500 threads, many of with are a multiple of pages long.) We don't always agree, but that is for you to decide what is correct and what might be mere speculation. There is so much there though and countless examples of fine Moro weapons to look at for reference.
You say that for the money there are better books to be had on the subject. Would you care to name one, because i am unaware of
any that concentrate on these weapons specifically. It is certainly past time that another book be written on the subject with updated knowledge and references. We have talked about this many times on this forum and you will no doubt find those discussions if you do indeed research our archives. I hope you do take the time to really look deeply into these archives. I am not telling you what to do, just responding to your post and making a friendly suggestion. I would also suggest that you remove that chip off your shoulder as it really isn't conducive to the spirit of friendly exchange that we attempt to encourge on these forums.
....and a very warm and happy Christmas to you as well Jan.