Nice old Moro budiak head for comments
 

I have an old Moro budiak head that was purchased in Davao City in 2003. It is in the traditional style, with a long slim blade and a central panel defined by narrow fullers and a narrow, central, squared-off, ridge. Like many Moro budiak of this style, the central panel shows (faint) signs of twist core construction. The proximal end of the blade is attached to a bolster covered in a silver metal, which may be white brass or heavy silver. The white metal was covered in a very adhesive black substance, much of which remains. I removed sufficient of the black material to show the white metal underneath. (Typically, these bolsters feature a yellow brass wrap, so this one may simply be white brass, and I’ll assume that until such time as it has been tested for silver.) The bolster is attached to the tang, which started out circular but has been flattened on four sides into a more square cross-section. A hole approximately 1/8 inch in diameter has been drilled through the wide are of the tang. I have seen such a hole on one or two other budiak, but it is an uncommon finding in my experience. Perhaps others have more idea of how commonly these tangs were pinned through.

For me, this is a good old honest Moro budiak (probably 19th C.) that has a laminated blade, twist core central section, and nice age patina. Comments are welcome.

OAL from tip of blade to end of tang = 18.0 in. (45.7 cm)
Blade length (from tip to bolster) = 14.25 in. (36.2 cm)
Bolster length (from blade to tang) = 1.0 in. (2.5 cm)
Tang length = 2.75 in. (7.0 cm)
Maximum blade width = 1.75 in. (4.4 cm)
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Nice budiak! I was told that the twistcore ones can go as far back as 18th century, probably even earlier. First time for me to encounter a hole in the tang- although this may have been used for added integrity insurance (like how sword tangs are "pinned" I guess) since I've seen budiaks still attached to their shafts have elaborate rattan and hemp wraps on the tang area; later ones even had wire wraps.

I agree xas, it's uncommon (perhaps rare) to find a hole in the tang. I believe this one is at least 19th C. However, I tend to be conservative with dating, and it might be pre-1800. It has the appearance of an antique blade with stable small areas of oxidation, etc. The blade has a nice patina and I refrained from over cleaning it. Just a little vinegar to bring out the faint twist core and a little rubbing with an organic solvent to see what covered the bolster under the black goop.

Congrats, a neat old budiak, Ian!

The hole in the tang looks machine-made and seems to have pretty crisp edges: Not consistent with the other worn surfaces which might point to at least first half of the 19th century.

I'd posit this hole was a later modification - maybe for securing it to a replacement pole or even mounting on a wall...

Regards,
Kai

Hello Ian,

Very nice twist core budiak, congrats! And I am with Kai on the hole in the tang, it doesn't look old to my eyes.

Regards,
Detlef

Hullo Kai, I'm genuinely curious- supposing the hole was made in modern time, what specific machine can do this? I'm not a smith by any chance, so I'd like to know how it's done. I've also seen such holes in kris and Lumad tangs, and I've always been curious how that was managed.

Hullo Ray,

Since the tangs are not hardened, pretty much any metal drill will do - either hand-driven or power tool.

Regards,
Kai