Barry, those pictures from ebay, Samoan clubs from a German publication { you always find really good publications in German rather like there cars
} I think they rather kill the the idea that they orginate outside of Samoan culture. Aspects I see on many examples seem so not like a bilhook or blubber knife. For one is the teeth, also with the "Nifo oti" on many, one side is convex the other concave and along with generally massive size I just do not really see a knife form. The pictures show this although there is a convergance of concave shaping to the hook tip. The picture of an example Barry has post from a museum in Israel is dispalying the concave side, which is always on the same side of the club.