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Old 8th February 2012, 01:01 PM   #1
Ferguson
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Default What hilt/scabbard material on this gunong?

Just received this gunong, and the hilt and scabbard material has me puzzled. I don't think it's ivory, but it's a natural material. It seems to have layers, maybe some kind of tooth or tusk? It's very heavy. The pictures are from the auction. I'll get some better ones this weekend. The blade is sandwich construction, with a thin hard layer in the center. The hilt polished up and turned out to be brass, I think. Looking to learning more about this one!

Steve
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Old 9th February 2012, 12:04 AM   #2
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More (poor) pictures.
Thanks,
Steve
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Old 9th February 2012, 12:38 AM   #3
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hmmm....looks like ivory to me...
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Old 9th February 2012, 12:39 AM   #4
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nice one BTW...
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Old 9th February 2012, 01:13 AM   #5
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Thanks David!
I don't have any Ivory, so I wasn't sure. Supposedly brought back from WWII, and in a closet ever since. There was thick grease on the blade and in the scabbard.

Steve
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Old 9th February 2012, 01:27 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferguson
Thanks David!
I don't have any Ivory, so I wasn't sure. Supposedly brought back from WWII, and in a closet ever since. There was thick grease on the blade and in the scabbard.

Steve
That seems about the right timeframe Steve. Looks like a nice quality piece though, not tourist junk.
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Old 9th February 2012, 01:42 AM   #7
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I agree (and am jealous) - looks like ivory to me too.

Great piece - you are truly "Tito Gunong"!
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Old 9th February 2012, 01:47 AM   #8
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Woo hoo! Thanks Jose!
Steve
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Old 9th February 2012, 05:17 AM   #9
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Great piece Steve, maybe one day I will find one of these. Congratulations on another wonderful addition to your ever growing collection!!

Robert
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Old 9th February 2012, 05:58 AM   #10
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Woo! That is nice. Thre red fittings-- are they Copper or suasa?
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Old 9th February 2012, 06:10 AM   #11
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Steve

Very nice find my friend
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Old 9th February 2012, 09:43 AM   #12
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Pepperskull, Some kind of copper alloy I think. The color in the pictures is a little off. They have a kind of pinkish tint in person.

Thanks Lew. It's good to hear from you buddy.

Steve
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Old 10th February 2012, 12:29 AM   #13
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I drew up a very similar design for Zel years ago for a gunong scabbard (no ivory though).
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Old 12th February 2012, 08:43 PM   #14
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Some (slightly) better pictures. I guess the scabbard trim is copper. It looks pink though. Could it be suassa?
Steve
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Old 12th February 2012, 10:28 PM   #15
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The only way for sure to know if it is copper or swassa is to get it tested by a jeweler.

Nice pictures.
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Old 12th February 2012, 10:48 PM   #16
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Thanks Jose.
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Old 13th February 2012, 09:07 AM   #17
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Hi Steve,

lovely gunong, really beautiful piece. Is it possible to see a picture from the throat of the handle? On some pictures you posted I think to see some black dots which will be a sign for hippo ivory.

Regards,

Detlef
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Old 14th February 2012, 09:53 AM   #18
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I'll get a picture for you Sajen. There was a lot of grease on the scabbard from the blade. I'll clean it well and look for the black dots.
thanks,
Steve
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Old 14th February 2012, 02:20 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Battara
The only way for sure to know if it is copper or swassa is to get it tested by a jeweler.

Nice pictures.
Well, usually sausa doesn't tarnish like copper...
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Old 14th February 2012, 03:28 PM   #20
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Quote:
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Well, usually sausa doesn't tarnish like copper...

But it get dark like gold also.
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Old 14th February 2012, 05:17 PM   #21
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Hi after reading this post I read the post 'parang betino' and noticed the similar material used in the Indonesian knife; color, darker areas etc.
(for 'our' convenience I attached a pic from that post here)

Perhaps these ivory filipino handles (in general?) were carved from Asian elephant ivory? (are/were there actually any elephants native to Indonesia??)

To be clear; elephant ivory is reckognizable by diamondshapes visible at the crosscut. Whaletusk and other tooth dont show this diamondpattern at the surface of crosscut.

Maybe the Indonesian armsexperts know more???
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Old 15th February 2012, 09:25 AM   #22
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My guess is that it some type of marine animal tusk. Since there is no sign of that herring bone criss cross pattern in the ivory I doubt that it's elephant ivory.

Steve if you can take a few extreme close up macro pics of the hilt in sun light this may help determine what it is?

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