A mystery Philippine blade.....

roshan · 29th April 2008, 10:11 PM

Hi, my friend asked me to upload this image to see if I could find out any information on the weapon... I tried looking through all the Philippine blades on Oriental Arms and a couple of other sites but did not find anything like it. My friend knows nothing about the blade except that the person he purchased it from claimed it had originally come from Mindanao.

Any comments would be appreciated!

VANDOO · 30th April 2008, 03:12 PM

THIS IS A NICE EXAMPLE OF WHAT I REFER TO AS A MONSTER HEAD BOLO IT IS NOT A MORO PIECE BUT PROBABLY FROM THE VISAYAN GROUP OF ISLANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE HANDLE COULD REPRESENT A CROCODILE OR A DRAGON OR SOME OTHER MYTHILOGICAL BEAST. YOU CAN SEARCH IN THE OLD FORUM ARCHIVES UNDER BOLO AS THERE WERE SOME GOOD DISCUSSIONS ON BOLO,S THERE IN THE PAST.

Battara · 30th April 2008, 08:56 PM

I would also suggest that this is post WWII

RSWORD · 30th April 2008, 09:13 PM

I wouldn't rule out WWII period on this one. It is of much better quality than the later ones which usually have more cartoonish hilt, less detailed carving in scabbard, lower quality blade, less patina, etc. Jose, have a 2nd look at this one.

Battara · 2nd May 2008, 12:39 AM

Perhaps, though Rick you must be referring to the "tourist" stuff of later. Some post WWII stuff were still had some quality. There was tourist stuff during this period too.......

RSWORD · 2nd May 2008, 02:58 AM

You make a good point Jose. I think it was Aristotle that once said, "All things of quality are quality regardless of date made. Some items made for tourist market are of quality. Therefore, not all items made for tourist market are not quality and not all items of low quality are of a late date." Or something like that.

The real point I was trying to make was this item seemd to be of good quality and I felt it could date as early as the 1940's.

29th April 2008, 10:11 PM	#1
roshan Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 20	A mystery Philippine blade..... Hi, my friend asked me to upload this image to see if I could find out any information on the weapon... I tried looking through all the Philippine blades on Oriental Arms and a couple of other sites but did not find anything like it. My friend knows nothing about the blade except that the person he purchased it from claimed it had originally come from Mindanao. Any comments would be appreciated!

30th April 2008, 03:12 PM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	THIS IS A NICE EXAMPLE OF WHAT I REFER TO AS A MONSTER HEAD BOLO IT IS NOT A MORO PIECE BUT PROBABLY FROM THE VISAYAN GROUP OF ISLANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE HANDLE COULD REPRESENT A CROCODILE OR A DRAGON OR SOME OTHER MYTHILOGICAL BEAST. YOU CAN SEARCH IN THE OLD FORUM ARCHIVES UNDER BOLO AS THERE WERE SOME GOOD DISCUSSIONS ON BOLO,S THERE IN THE PAST.

30th April 2008, 08:56 PM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	I would also suggest that this is post WWII

30th April 2008, 09:13 PM	#4
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,083	I wouldn't rule out WWII period on this one. It is of much better quality than the later ones which usually have more cartoonish hilt, less detailed carving in scabbard, lower quality blade, less patina, etc. Jose, have a 2nd look at this one.

2nd May 2008, 12:39 AM	#5
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	Perhaps, though Rick you must be referring to the "tourist" stuff of later. Some post WWII stuff were still had some quality. There was tourist stuff during this period too.......

2nd May 2008, 02:58 AM	#6
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,083	You make a good point Jose. I think it was Aristotle that once said, "All things of quality are quality regardless of date made. Some items made for tourist market are of quality. Therefore, not all items made for tourist market are not quality and not all items of low quality are of a late date." Or something like that. The real point I was trying to make was this item seemd to be of good quality and I felt it could date as early as the 1940's.