Modern pira

[kronckew]

The UK prohibits the import of curved bladed knives/swords with blades over 50 cm. long.

There is an exemption available to collectors/martial arts members that they are OK if made by traditional means. I ordered two swords from Ron Kosakowski at Traditional Filipino Weapons a few years back. after buying the Visayan Barong above from him. One in a later batch had a slightly curved blade a few inches over the 50 cm. mark. Ron followed all the rules and had made it known on the customs form the sword was 'traditionally made' and thus exempt from the silly rule (silly in that a straight blade would have been allowed, no problem).

The UK Border Force Confiscated them anyway. Apparently, if one of a batch doesn't meet their arbitrary requirements, the whole shipment is forfeit.

With Ron's help and with photos & videos of TFW's blades actually being forged, along with some documentation from Ron, the UKBF grudgingly allowed the shipment into the UK to me. Some of TFW's items are somewhat loose in the interpretation of the appearance of the forms he has made by the traditional smiths he uses. He's got a bit better since our dance with the UKBF. The whole brouhaha took around 6 months of emails and surface mails, back and forth, before I received my goodies.

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by kronckew

The UK prohibits the import of curved bladed knives/swords over 50 cm. long.

There is an exemption available to collectors/martial arts members that they are OK if made by traditional means. I ordered two swords from Ron Kosakowski at Traditional Filipino Weapons a few years back. after buying the Visayan Barong above from him. One in a later batch had a slightly curved blade a few inches over the 50 cm. mark. Ron followed all the rules and had made it known on the customs form the sword was 'traditionally made' and thus exempt from the silly rule (silly in that a straight blade would have been allowed, no problem).

The UK Border Force Confiscated them anyway. Apparently, if one of a batch doesn't meet their arbitrary requirements, the whole shipment is forfeit.

With Ron's help and with photos & videos of TFW's blades actually being forged, along with some documentation from Ron, the UKBF grudgingly allowed the shipment into the UK to me. Some of TFW's items are somewhat loose in the interpretation of the appearance of the forms he has made by the traditional smiths he uses. He's got a bit better since our dance with the UKBF. The whole brouhaha took around 6 months of emails and surface mails, back and forth, before I received my goodies.

Thanks for supporting the work of Filipino pandays sir. Although I have to admit, me and my friends don't get along well with TFW- we view the outfit as more of a custom blade producer, because, as you mentioned - the designs are inaccurate. There's also the case of the blades defying ethnographic accuracy- all of his pieces are made in North Luzon, and only by one ethnolinguistic group. This totally ignores the unique blademaking practices and other cultural stuff that is preserved by different regional pandays faithfully sticking to their respective regions ' trad blades. But perhaps the worst slurs are the mislabeled or fantasy-stuff history / origin stated by his products.

Sorry for the rant. But I really hope you come across the legit trad blades-- I can vouch that the real thing does perform well and look good!

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by xasterix

...

Sorry for the rant. But I really hope you come across the legit trad blades-- I can vouch that the real thing does perform well and look good!

Sadly, It's hard to find the modern but traditionally made stuff online any more.

[Lee]

Here is my very similar pira purchased by myself in the market in Zamboanga City in the early to mid 1970s. The scabbard has been wrapped with black plastic electrical tape - so much like what I would have done in that time - but in this case it came to me like that, loosely over-wrapped with the strip of cloth. It did not strike me as being really old, maybe about a decade (though it now looks much the same after I have had it at least 45 years!), but it did have some evidence of use and work staining and light bleaching of the handle and scabbard even when it was new to me. It was and remains incredibly sharp and feels great in the hand. I have always regarded it as being more of a practical everyday working tool than weapon. (I remember harvesting some backyard bananas with it.)

[Rafngard]

Originally Posted by xasterix

Thanks for supporting the work of Filipino pandays sir. Although I have to admit, me and my friends don't get along well with TFW- we view the outfit as more of a custom blade producer, because, as you mentioned - the designs are inaccurate. There's also the case of the blades defying ethnographic accuracy- all of his pieces are made in North Luzon, and only by one ethnolinguistic group. This totally ignores the unique blademaking practices and other cultural stuff that is preserved by different regional pandays faithfully sticking to their respective regions ' trad blades. But perhaps the worst slurs are the mislabeled or fantasy-stuff history / origin stated by his products.

Sorry for the rant. But I really hope you come across the legit trad blades-- I can vouch that the real thing does perform well and look good!

I know a few people in the American FMA community that just LOVE TFW swords. I've handled a couple, and yeah, they seem good quality, but they really just don't look right, and in the hand, they don't feel like the originals.

Have fun,
Leif

[Bob A]

A couple makers of khukris by traditional methods:

https://kailashblades.com/traditional/

https://www.thekhukurihouse.com/

No personal experience, but people of my acquaintance are happy with their blades.

[xasterix]

@kronckew

There are some trad blade makers nowadays who do shipping from PH to US! Hope the admins don't mind, but you can check the FB page of Ilocano Traditional Blades. Just go for their traditional designs (and not the rambo / custom ones). I can vouch for those guys, as I helped them build up their brand. Their bulong pagay and bulong unas blade iterations are particularly good.

@Lee

That's a gorgeous pira. And I'm glad it's aged gracefully and served you well! May I request for a close-up pic of the scabbard throat? I rarely get to see the throat part having that much detail nowadays.

@Rafngard

Halloo Leif, I can't blame the fans of TFW...most of them simply haven't had the chance to compare the legit trad blades yet. I think everyone, at one point, got curious with TFW's offerings. It's sad that he didn't get his act right.

@Bob A

I checked out the sites- lots of good-looking blades. I have zero khukuri / kuri knowledge, but those look good, with some using trad-looking materials. Thanks for these (I'll refer to the sites if ever I plan on getting any khukris).

[kai]

Hello Xas,

Thanks for showing! That's certainly way above average quality.

BTW, did you have any chance to compare the feel of these "modern pira" with genuine old-style pira from the 19th. century?

Has anybody looked into the emergence/evolution of these modern pira?

Regards,
Kai

[Ian]

Hi Xas,

I really like that new pira. Very handsome piece.

Here's one of mine from WWII era. Somewhat slimmer than many examples of this style.

Ian.


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