Ian, here is another from Apalit made by "Castro and Son" that I have in my personal collection. The thread is located here
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=castro+sons I have a couple more in my collection and as you say they are heavy, well made and would make formidable weapons if needed. I believe that this one would definitely fall into the personal weapon class as I do not believe that it was ever meant to see fieldwork, unless it was on a battlefield. The others were brought back by returning servicemen after the war.
Best,
Robert