xasterix:
Thank you for your lengthy comment and familiarity with the longer weapons of the Visayan groups. While the vast majority of native Visayan weapons were on the shorter side, there were, as you correctly noted, some that were quite long. I agree completely about the need to be practised in using the weapons of your culture, and that the weapons of the Moro peoples may not be well suited to Visayan use.
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Originally Posted by xasterix
... mainstream TV is full of inaccuracies and generalizations; sadly, Filipinos are not that well-versed in fact research. In fact, even the use of kampilans by Lapu-Lapu's warriors during the Battle of Mactan is being hotly debated nowadays (ironically, even Lapu-Lapu's presence in the battle is being contested).
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Indeed, mainstream TV has much to answer for, and a lot of traditional stories are being re-examined more critically.
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... [cloning] smiths in the Philippines are based in Pozzurubio, Pangasinan, an area which is infamously known as the 'clone capital' of Philippine blades- the smiths there copy other regions' blades, but they are unable, of course, to replicate the finer details such as weight distribution, balance, specific length and aesthetics, etc. ...
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Your reference to Pagnasinan as a source for "cloned" blades is interesting. There is a substantial Ilokano presence in Pagnasinan--do you know if these smiths are mainly Ilokanos? Also, do you know if this center of smithing was active during the U.S. military presence in Central Luzon? For some time I have been trying to source the large numbers of knives and swords that were brought back by U.S. servicemen post WWII. Ilokano styles were prominent among those bringbacks.
Ian.