Hello Ron,
Congrats, I'm glad you snapped up this sweet kris!
Maranao, 2nd half of 19th c. seems right to me. The other kris you referred to still looks like a (mid 19th c. or a bit earlier?) Sulu blade to me. I'm afraid that I don't grasp very close similarities or is it mainly a feel/balance thing? Could you post a pic of both pieces side by side, please?
Frome the pics, I don't get the impression that this is a reworked European blade: The pamor at (or in front of) the sampir area looks undisturbed, especially visible on the left hand side; also the form and fullering of the blade does look like nice Moro work to me. Since some of the talismanic marks are situated inside the shallow central fuller while those at the base are engraved into the convex blade surface, I think that the chances that this is an European blade with original European marks are slim to none.
I believe this blade would benefit from careful repolishing and an even etch - this would certainly allow to verify its construction and origin.
Regards,
Kai
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