A mystery Philippine blade.....

tom hyle · 5th May 2008, 02:18 PM

Nice sword. What is the handguard made of (horn? or metal?). Is the unsharpened ricasoe at the base of the blade thicker at the front edge than at the back edge? Note the hilt/pommel is essentially a Moro kampilan handle shape, but backwards; interesting; Visayan-hilted kris sundang I've seen are usually or always(?) hilted "backwards" compared to Moro kris sundang.
Not a Moro piece, mind you; but there are resemblances; the Visayan Sea is the next thing North of Mindinao.
The one-sided ("chisel") bevel is of right-handed configuration. The blalde probably has a fairly narrow hardened edge on a softer body, much like a Japanese sword.
Why is the tip of the sheath a different colour? There was probably once a rawhide or horn(?) covering over the smooth upper part of the sheath, which probably provided a tab to prevent the sword from sliding down out of a belt.

5th May 2008, 02:18 PM	#9
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Nice sword. What is the handguard made of (horn? or metal?). Is the unsharpened ricasoe at the base of the blade thicker at the front edge than at the back edge? Note the hilt/pommel is essentially a Moro kampilan handle shape, but backwards; interesting; Visayan-hilted kris sundang I've seen are usually or always(?) hilted "backwards" compared to Moro kris sundang. Not a Moro piece, mind you; but there are resemblances; the Visayan Sea is the next thing North of Mindinao. The one-sided ("chisel") bevel is of right-handed configuration. The blalde probably has a fairly narrow hardened edge on a softer body, much like a Japanese sword. Why is the tip of the sheath a different colour? There was probably once a rawhide or horn(?) covering over the smooth upper part of the sheath, which probably provided a tab to prevent the sword from sliding down out of a belt.