The shape of the blade on this knife is strongly reminiscent of the Pinatubo Negrito
katana shown in Fox, Plate 9 above. This picture comes from the Philippine section (no. 212) in the History of Steel Exhibition at the Macao Museum of Art (see
here). The museum described it as a Luzon
tabak, probably from Batangas.
The knife has a brass ferrule and a horn handle the end of which is carved with a human head wearing a brass cap. This style of carving is typical of work from Ilocos sur, and therefore is likely to be Ilocano in origin. The links between edged weapons of the Negritos and Ilokano are issues for a separate discussion.
Ian
---------------------Attachment: Luzon
tabak (Ilocano style hilt, Negrito
katana-style blade)---------------------------