multi-cultural

[Rick]

Strikes me as a Philippine modification too .
I'd like to see details of the base of the spear .

An O Yari would seem a strange thing to find in the Philippines; I can see NCO blades etc. , but a Yari ?
Would something like that go on campaign ?

[Gavin Nugent]

I under stand it to be a Hachiwara or Japanese helmety breaker.
More often than not, they do resemble a Jitte but also come in a plain curved, "rod" for want of a better word with no protrusion to catch blades. Horn handles are very common too, I have read it is used as a left handed parrying devise as well.
I though it looked composite, but from images that I have seen over the years though it could be the real deal too.
I hope this gives some direction to those interested.

regards

Gav

[RhysMichael]

Far outside my range of study but I thought haciwara looked like this

http://www.liongate-armsandarmour.co...25-1_small.jpg

I thought Hachiwara and Tekken did not have edges as such where this blade does look like a slightly bent omi no yari
http://www.ncjsc.org/gloss_yari.htm
Below is an omi no yari

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by RhysMichael

Far outside my range of study but I thought haciwara looked like this

http://www.liongate-armsandarmour.co...25-1_small.jpg

I thought Hachiwara and Tekken did not have edges as such where this blade does look like a slightly bent omi no yari
http://www.ncjsc.org/gloss_yari.htm
Below is an omi no yari

Yes you are right about the image you produced, but for other variances of this weapon's appearances, refer to Stones Glossary.
The handle being of horn and it's shape and fittings are typical of these items, I too am no expert but I did look at these at length when I stumbled across them some years ago and found that the square blade(for want of a better word) and hook that appears in the image you provided are the norm, but they do stray far outside these boundries. For all intents and purposes, it could well have been a modified yari to produce this somewhat unusual item.

Gav

[G. McCormack]

That menuki on the hilt looks like part of a WWII japanese menuki..I could be wrong.
The patina and condition of the horn reminds me of many of my first-half-of-the-20th century filipino pieces.

Interesting mix.

[Jeff Pringle]

Definitely omi-no-yari, definitely a composite piece. The re-hilting feels honest, it was done by someone who knew how to make a sword; it would be in better shape but it looks like late in life somebody attacked an iron fence with it.
Since the blade was originally Nihonto, I don’t have to respect the patina, right? The steel looks koto (pre-1600s), so once I’ve taken all the ripples out the rust is going away, and we’ll see what else the metal has to say about its origins.

[Andrew]

If that was a genuine o-yari someone should be shot for butchering it and cutting down the tang.

I'd love to hear from Rich on this...

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Jeff Pringle

Definitely omi-no-yari, definitely a composite piece. The re-hilting feels honest, it was done by someone who knew how to make a sword; it would be in better shape but it looks like late in life somebody attacked an iron fence with it.

I am guessing that since it resembles a Hachiwara or Japanese helmet breaker in fom, the pounding that it shows would be consistant with the application of that style of weapon, albeit a compound creation, it could well have been as such in times past.

Gav