I picked this up a couple years ago and have been debating what to do with it. I originally thought it might be a fragment of a broken kris and it was cheap so I picked it up. I am a sucker for laminated steel. After a little researching I found the style was relatively common. Age I don't want to hazard a guess? Condition; no sheath, bad job of rehilting the blade (used epoxy), the blade is also highly patinated with a slightly spurred tip. Overall length around 14", blade 9 1/4". Wood handle highly patinaed, no hard finish such as polyurethane, some chatoyancy. Cast brass ferule, brass guard with the lip of the blade slightly proud on the side of the main cutting edge. This seems fairly common as I have found a few pictures of similarly hilted gunongs in this style. The balance feels very tip heavy, but in reality is only at the third bend (is luk appropriate here). The blade has 7 bends and seems laminated. Now the odd part if you look at the detail pictures of the blade below there seems to be a yellow metal in the occlusions left by the forging process that have not tarnished in the last few years, though the blade has been well oiled...Research material is hard to come for me on Philipine and Moro weapons particularly daggers. Cato had nothing to say about gunongs. I have attached the relevant portions of Herbert W Krieger's book.
So here are the questions.
1) Age
2)Handle. I have not been able to find out about this shape. I have seen quite a few pictured in threads:
Numerous examples in
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5732
Post 21
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=gunong
A beautiful example in
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=gunong
Was this style of handle steadily produced though less popular, or regional and/or of a specific time period?
3) What do you think of the blade?
4) What would you all do with this piece? Clean? Clean, polish the blade and etch? If the etch is good would you re hilt with a cutlers resin and seat the handle snuggly as it should be?
5) Any more suggestions for research matterial in Pinay and Moro arms other than Edwin R. Bastula's book that I can seem to find?
All comments are welcome. Thanks as always for viewing.
IP