Modern pira

[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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[Lee]

It will be a few days before I will be able to organize fresh pictures. The scabbard mouth is very plain, except for the profile and the hilt extends up to about a centimetre into a recess. The edges are reinforced with aluminum edges.

I notice a similar profile in the mouth of the scabbard in Ian's example (as well as some nice carving). I notice that the shaping of the hilt and the 'ricasso' of the blade are also very similar between Ian's splendid example and mine.

[kronckew]

Ian, that's a really nice one. A proper sword.

[Ian]

Lee, your example is very similar to mine, although your blade is a bit wider. The ricasso and hilt are almost identical on the two swords, and the scabbards have the same profile. Is it possible that yours is also WWII vintage? I know these swords were used as weapons against the Japanese during WWII.


Wayne, thanks for the kind words.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Ian

Is it possible that yours is also WWII vintage?

It was certainly not new in the mid 1970s when I acquired it and it has not added much appearance of further aging, so it surely could be older than my guess. Perhaps, if not very likely, the black electrical tape wrapping of the scabbard replaced an original traditional wrapping more like yours.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Lee

It was certainly not new in the mid 1970s when I acquired it and it has not added much appearance of further aging, so it surely could be older than my guess. Perhaps, if not very likely, the black electrical tape wrapping of the scabbard replaced an original traditional wrapping more like yours.

Quite possible. I have another (provenanced) WWII-era piece that had the scabbard wrapped in black electrical tape.

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by 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.


.

This pira breaks my heart. Haha kidding, I hope to get to meet it someday still. Really handsome blade.