Any sources on non-moro Philippine forging?

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Rafngard

Hello all,

I do wonder if the number of WWII and later Vasayan talibongs (usually of low quality, and made for those who travel) is impacting the perception of Vasayan smiths here?

Perhaps the same is true of the ubiquitous "negrito bolo" blades from Luzon.

This is not to say that there aren't low quality, more modern, Moro blades. However, despite being someone who often bargain hunts on a certain auction site, I don't see these nearly as often as I see lower quality blades from the Vasayans or Luzon.

Even when a high quality (say a pre-WWI garab, or a Katipunan dagger) does come on the market, the ending price is often significantly higher than a (roughly) equivalent Moro piece.

So maybe the market that buyers, especially newer collectors, are seeing is influencing perception?

Have fun,
Leif

Hi Leif,

Allow me to share you what I know of the current PH traditional blade (tradblades) market. When I say tradblades, these are ethnographic weapons, not reproductions. All the modern ones I've held retain the 'feel' consistent with vintage and antique reproductions.

For Luzon and Visayas, the market for traditional fighting blades lags greatly behind reproduction blades. The area that shines are utility tradblades.

However, in Mindanao, modern trad fighting blades still abound, and are much sought-after.

Now, let's move on to the vintage and antique pieces. Vintage and antique pieces remaining in PH are few and far between, so when one encounters a vintage/antique, it's usually overpriced, much more than its usual selling price on eBay. Also, vintage/antique pieces are usually Moro in origin; it's difficult to search for Luzon- or Visayas-specific vintage/antique tradblades.

This is the reason why many collectors, at least in my age range, choose to collect modern tradblades. Aside from the shortage of vintage/antique supply, pricing of modern tradblades are easier on the wallet. Plus there are impressively built modern tradblades that handle almost the same as vintage/antique pieces.