African or Philippine ??

Ian · 17th November 2017, 12:28 PM

Hi drac:

I agree with Detlef--the additional pictures don't help much in identifying this unusual knife. For completeness, it would be nice to have the dimensions recorded here so that when another one comes along we will be better able to compare them.

Despite the method of blade construction, it looks neither Taiwanese nor Ifugao to me. Both of those cultures use strong rattan bands on their hilts, and I have never seen a cord wrap on such knives, nor a carved pommel like this one.

The forging of the blade is very crude, as if performed by a village blacksmith, and falls well short of the quality usually seen on knives from Taiwan or northern Luzon. It looks much like iron objects forged using a stone hammer and and a rock for an anvil. That said, the blade does taper in thickness from hilt to tip and the edge has been ground evenly in width, suggesting the smith had some skill and experience in making knives.

There are a number of small inhabited islands off northern Luzon and between the Philippines and Taiwan. I have no knowledge of the knives used by the small populations on some of these islands, but it is conceivable that this knife comes from one of those groups.

With regard to the shape of the blade, which might be called leaf-shaped, there is some passing resemblance to the Moro barung and to the Ifugao pinahig. However, both of these have a straighter spine to the blade than this example (see here for examples of the pinahig). There are other cultures that produce knives of similar shape, notably the so-called hudiedao of the "river pirates" of southern China and Vietnam (basically the South China Sea area). These have been discussed here under Chinese fighting knives. That similarity could possibly extend the search area for this knife.

Like many of the mystery knives that come up here, I think we will need to wait for further examples to emerge, perhaps with more details as to their origin.

Ian.

17th November 2017, 12:28 PM	#19
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,066	Hi drac: I agree with Detlef--the additional pictures don't help much in identifying this unusual knife. For completeness, it would be nice to have the dimensions recorded here so that when another one comes along we will be better able to compare them. Despite the method of blade construction, it looks neither Taiwanese nor Ifugao to me. Both of those cultures use strong rattan bands on their hilts, and I have never seen a cord wrap on such knives, nor a carved pommel like this one. The forging of the blade is very crude, as if performed by a village blacksmith, and falls well short of the quality usually seen on knives from Taiwan or northern Luzon. It looks much like iron objects forged using a stone hammer and and a rock for an anvil. That said, the blade does taper in thickness from hilt to tip and the edge has been ground evenly in width, suggesting the smith had some skill and experience in making knives. There are a number of small inhabited islands off northern Luzon and between the Philippines and Taiwan. I have no knowledge of the knives used by the small populations on some of these islands, but it is conceivable that this knife comes from one of those groups. With regard to the shape of the blade, which might be called leaf-shaped, there is some passing resemblance to the Moro barung and to the Ifugao pinahig. However, both of these have a straighter spine to the blade than this example (see here for examples of the pinahig). There are other cultures that produce knives of similar shape, notably the so-called hudiedao of the "river pirates" of southern China and Vietnam (basically the South China Sea area). These have been discussed here under Chinese fighting knives. That similarity could possibly extend the search area for this knife. Like many of the mystery knives that come up here, I think we will need to wait for further examples to emerge, perhaps with more details as to their origin. Ian.