LabanTayo and I have had the privledge to evaluate one these new swords from themorningstar. We've had it since January, but I've procrastinated writing this evaluation until now...just hours before I take off for the Philippines for a month
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Anyways, themorningstar sent me a new talibong from Negros knowing that LabanTayo and I both study a Visayan art from Negros and the talibong is one of the types of swords we use in our sword art. When the talibong (or you could call it a tenegre) arrived the first thing I noticed when I picked it up was that it was a serious sword and definately not tourist junk that you would expect from new swords coming from the Philippines. The sword measures 26.5 inches long overall with a blade of around 20 inches. It's about 1.25 inches at it's widest and about 0.25 inches thick at the ricasso with a nice distal taper. The blade follows the nice slender talibong form usually associated with Negros with a nice long 7.5 inch false edge. The wider "bilog" form is usually associated more with Panay and is exemplified in the "Sanduko" tenegre blades. One interesting note here is that the blade is double beveled instead of the traditional chisel-edge. I discussed this with themorningstar and he said that this configuration would appeal to more westerners and martial artist than the traditional left or right hand single bevel. It also allows the sword to be used by either right or left handed persons.
As requested by themorningstar, Shelley and I etched the blade to see if the blade had a hardened edge. We used FeCl and found that it indeed had been forged and had a hardened edge which was darker than the rest of the sword.
The handle is of the traditional horsehoof design that comes from Negros. The hilt is carved of carabao horn and is highly polished. The ferrule looks like its made of either brass or iron which has been chrome plated. The S-guard is also made of brass or iron and chrome plated as well. We really like the S-guard on this sword. The bottom bow covers the fingers well and leaves enough room for them to still move around. The top part of the guard is small enough to be unobtrusive, but effective enough to protect your hand and catch your opponents blade. All in all, a very effective hilt. One nice touch is that even though the hilt is your typical Visayan blind tang construction, a pin goes crosswise through the hilt and tang further securing the blade into the handle.
The scabbard that came with this sword is wood with leather covering both ends, with a little hanger block of wood near the throat. themorningstar appologized to me about the scabbard before hand saying this was just a prototype and the scabbard was just thrown together in the last minute. I actually didn't find anything wrong with the scabbard...it does what a scabbard is supposed to do and it doesn't look that bad.
So how well does this sword work? It works great and handles extremely well. The first thing I noticed is that it swings and twirls very well. It's a very fast blade that can change directions rather quickly. For me the blade was just the right length at 20 inches. LabanTayo said he'd prefer a blade just a little longer. Actually, the morningstar has another talibong with a longer blade which LabanTayo would probably prefer. We did notice one thing about the hilt. The hilt is bigger than most of the sword hilts we are use to, but then again LabanTayo and I are use to old antique Visayan swords with smaller proportioned hilts. The good news is that most westerners will have no problems with this hilt being too small like many of my vintage Visayan hilts. One of LabanTayos top students said there was nothing wrong with the sword and is perfect in size in all respects...of course he's over 6 feet tall and at least a good solid 225 lbs. I'm much small, but would prefer maybe a slightly smaller hilt. LabanTayo would prefer the same hilt, but with a longer blade. That's just being nitpicky. Overall, this is one great sword for any Filipino Martial Artist.
As for cutting, I don't have any pictures, but it cuts extremely well. This is one great sword for those not wanting to mess up or play with their antique Visayan swords. Enclosed are a few detailed pics with a couple of Visayan swords from Negros and Panay to compare with. Contact themorningstar if your interested in an authentic Visayan talibong or ginunting. Hopefully LabanTayo and themorningstar can add further comment. I'm off for the Philippines!