Philippines dagger
 

Does anyone recognize this style? Peened hilt, copper guard, brass ferrule, horn handle (some bug holes). 6.5" blade, 11" OAL.

I had a similar one years ago. it is from Luzon island and made of horn and bronze. It is probably from the 1950s or 1960s.

Hi Jeff.

As Battara has noted, this is from Luzon. Many of these Luzon wavy-bladed knives were brought back to the U.S. by servicemen serving in the Philippines post-WWII. It appears that most were manufactured in Central Luzon, near the major US Airforce Base (Clark AFB) and not far from the large US Naval Base at Subic Bay. A lot of US soldiers passed through these bases during the Vietnam War. The hilt style on this one is a little different from the usual Central Luzon examples, and it might be a bit older.

When ferrule and guard are two single parts it could be an older example. ;)

This is two pieces. If bronze, the guard has a high copper content as evidenced by the red color and it is soft enough to be crimped onto the blade. The ferrule and pommel cap are a harder yellow alloy.

Thanks Jeff. Could you post a close up picture of the guard and the crimped area. This sounds like an unusual construction.

Hi Jeff,

This is a very good sign. I've seen this before, at the first look this construction looks like the one-piece mid. 20th century examples, but I've seen a few with two-piece construction where I was pretty sure that these pieces have been much older. :cool:
I would polish the brass up a little bit, the two colours will be better visible.

Regards,
Detlef