Twistcore Moro spear with provenance, collected in 1872!

[kai]

Thanks for the link, Lee!

[Lee]

I wonder even more about at what time the twist-core pattern-welding first appeared in this area. In the example I presented in this thread, when I removed the broken shaft elements, the tarry mastic was still in place and there was old brown rust on the tang - and no evidence of recent corrosion products or of debris to suggest that this was also its state when it was mounted - likely a century ago. The nature of the oxide layer on the tang resembled the same patina often seen on a Japanese swords that are several centuries old.

[drac2k]

Beautiful spear with a fantastic lineage.Was the loop on the end of the spear for cordage and retrieval; obviously one would not want to lose such a valuable item.

[kai]

Was the loop on the end of the spear for cordage and retrieval; obviously one would not want to lose such a valuable item.

Budiak were mainly intended for close-range hand-hand combat rather than being thrown.

Such a loop is not unusual but far from universal. Apart from allowing to place the non-business end on soggy soil, I'm wondering whether it also may have helped storage by keeping it in a vertical hanging position (i. e. not prone to bending the pole)?

Regards,
Kai

[Battara]

Well Kai, you have a good question. My thoughts are these:

1. One sees more twist cores in kris, barong, spears, kampilan, etc. the further back in time one goes. In fact, by the time of the early 20th century, twist cores in the Philippines disappear.

2. Early twist cores seem to be of better quality than those by the end of the 19th century.

3. As gun technologies improved and the acquisition of these weapons grew, the quality of bladed weaponry seems to have declined due to declining reliance on bladed weaponry. When the demand drops, so does the supply and the trained smiths (who often go to make other things for a living). Thus even the training for making a twist core properly is lost, especially after the American ban of large bladed weaponry in the Morolands after 1915.

So far these are some of my observations, but I admit I need to see more provenance examples and more research to back these thoughts.

[kai]

Hello Lee,

I wonder even more about at what time the twist-core pattern-welding first appeared in this area.

Based on their state of preservation, the oldest extant Moro blades appear to be kalis; twistcore is very common among these archaic examples. Thus, the technique has been around from the very beginning - possibly since the formation of the Islamic Moro culture or at least during the development of the Moro kalis!

I can't remember having seen any budiak that seemed to come close to such an age by a wide margin. No idea whether these were more easily replaced or were of lesser esteem. Obviously these were part of any Datu's inheritance and possibly regalia; maybe they were not regarded as a personal token though?

when I removed the broken shaft elements, the tarry mastic was still in place and there was old brown rust on the tang - and no evidence of recent corrosion products or of debris to suggest that this was also its state when it was mounted - likely a century ago. The nature of the oxide layer on the tang resembled the same patina often seen on a Japanese swords that are several centuries old.

Resin may slow down corrosion but it can't prevent the development of rust in the long run (I doubt these got mounted with corroded tangs originally).

Compared to Japan, the average temperature is 10-20°K higher in Moroland. Thus, rust is at least 2-4 times faster! And the pervasive influence of high humidity is way stronger in a tropical climate compared to the moderate Japanese climate. Moreover, the coastal settlements experience continuous presence of corrosive seawater aerosols and microscopic salt crystals. Very difficult to compare...

Regards,
Kai