Leif:
You recently linked this thread in discussing another Apalit knife. I'm sorry I did not respond to your initial post--better late than never I guess.
Thank you for posting this example of a
tabak with an Apalit hilt. I have not seen such a combination before, and I associate the
tabak more with Ilokano examples, sometimes with a
sinan kapitan hilt (the head of a guy in a military cap). This same blade style is seen in a Negrito weapon form that Fox* labeled as a
katana and which he says was used for combat.
Very interesting mix of styles on your knife.
Ian.
* Fox, R.B.
The Pinatubo Negritos: Their useful plants and material culture. Philippine Journal of Science 81: 260–361, 1952. [For a transcription of the text and copies of the figures, see
here.]