[xasterix]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Kai, here's the gangya pic. The blade measure from the base of the gangya is 20 inches long. It's monosteel, very light, and flexible. The fuller is wide and deep. It's the lightest sword I've ever held for its size, to the extent that I can do flicking moves with it.

I ran a magnet over the hilt; it's confirmed that it's a peened setup. A guy familiar with Tagalog peens commented that the "punch" used (the 'nail' at the butt) looks very much like a ship rivet. It's the largest punch he's seen used on a traditional blade.

I've disassembled kris before with abnormally long tangs- some had their original tangs extended (additional material welded), or seemed to have been grafted with replacement tangs. Whichever the case it was for this particular kris- whoever put together this peened setup for the kris had a good sense of the wield "balance."

Also to add, regarding possible location of retrofitting: I've seen a few American-era Batangas or Cavite-made blades utilizing the same material (antler) and peen setup, so I'm betting this piece was modified there. There were also Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte blades of the same era made of antler, but their peen setup was different.