new from the philippines!

[themorningstar]

Originally Posted by tom hyle

I can't speak for Ian, of course, but I believe he meant full length tangs, not full flat tangs; some of them seem to have full length tangs with brass pommel nuts?

yes, four of the blades are from the luzon area, rat tail tang with brass end...

[ThePepperSkull]

I thought I would refesh this thread with some more Phillippine made modern blades.

yakan-made Pira, ca. 1992.

[ThePepperSkull]

^ forgot to mention the materials used: The handle is made of Langka wood, the sheath is some fort of Palm wood, and wrapped in Rattan.




Here's a cebuano Pinuti. This one is your more run of the mill utility bolo. Made by a Panday named Jun Silva.

[ThePepperSkull]

Originally Posted by ThePepperSkull

I thought I would refesh this thread with some more Phillippine made modern blades.

yakan-made Pira, ca. 1992.
(snip)

Error on my part, this was made in 1995, not '92.

Here are pics of the same Pira, as taken by its previous owner, Cecil Quirino:






This is probably my favourite blade out of my collection. Very hard steel, the edge holds incredibly well, and it just feels like a workhorse.




Another modern made P.I. weapon. Here is a Kampilan made by a maguindanao smith who went by the name of "toks", made in 1992. Also procured from Cecil Quirino's collection:






Due to its tempering the blade vibrates quite a bit, and looking down the spire the blade curves. Despite this it holds its edge as well as any of the stiffer blades I own. Also, despite its relative shakiness in terms of vibrating when cutting with, feels very sturdy and does not feel to me like a tourist blade, which in contrast often feel brittle, wafer thin and unsafe. Of this I cannot be 100% sure and am just speculating, but Cecil is a man who does his research and does not procure touristy blades for his personal collection.

What do you all think of me getting this retempered and straightened? I found a local bladesmith (N. American) who would be willing to do this for me. the drawback is that the hilt will nee to be destroyed in order to do so.

Of course, the hilt is not as ornate as other older kampilan, nor is it as ornate as newer kampilan hilts coming from places like Tugaya... which I may consider ordering a hilt from to replace the old one if ever I decide to get the blade retempered and straightened.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by ThePepperSkull

Error on my part, this was made in 1995, not '92.

Here are pics of the same Pira, as taken by its previous owner, Cecil Quirino:






This is probably my favourite blade out of my collection. Very hard steel, the edge holds incredibly well, and it just feels like a workhorse.




Another modern made P.I. weapon. Here is a Kampilan made by a maguindanao smith who went by the name of "toks", made in 1992. Also procured from Cecil Quirino's collection:






Due to its tempering the blade vibrates quite a bit, and looking down the spire the blade curves. Despite this it holds its edge as well as any of the stiffer blades I own. Also, despite its relative shakiness in terms of vibrating when cutting with, feels very sturdy and does not feel to me like a tourist blade, which in contrast often feel brittle, wafer thin and unsafe. Of this I cannot be 100% sure and am just speculating, but Cecil is a man who does his research and does not procure touristy blades for his personal collection.

What do you all think of me getting this retempered and straightened? I found a local bladesmith (N. American) who would be willing to do this for me. the drawback is that the hilt will nee to be destroyed in order to do so.

Of course, the hilt is not as ornate as other older kampilan, nor is it as ornate as newer kampilan hilts coming from places like Tugaya... which I may consider ordering a hilt from to replace the old one if ever I decide to get the blade retempered and straightened.

Do you don't think that it is possible to bore out the rivet and take off the hilt?

Regards,

Detlef

[kai]

Do you don't think that it is possible to bore out the rivet and take off the hilt?

Sure, the hilt can be taken off! (I'd kinda question the expertise of a bladesmith who needs to destroy the hilt for working on a blade... )

Also, correcting an slightly bent blade (I reckon this is a somewhat even curve from your description?) should be possible to do without bringing the blade up to red heat and needing to harden/tempering it! Even kinks in a blade can usually corrected for without resorting to a forge. I think you need to talk to someone experienced with restoring antique swords (like Philip Tom) to get some pointers.

BTW, I'd like to see this kampilan blade etched - looks like pretty good work for a current era smith! (Neat reproduction - not suggesting this is an antique.) What is the maximum thickness?

If you really want to upgrade the hilt for a user blade, take care in selecting the new hilt - some of the Turgaya hilts look a bit cheesy IMHO.

Regards,
Kai

[ThePepperSkull]

cheese factor is what I was concerned about, as well haha.

Looking into it actually and did find another guy who said "Yeah, no problem" when discussing handle removal without damage,. It looks like the person may not even need the hilt removed to just reset the edge if that's all I decide to do, which is what I have been considering. There's no curve to it. more if a "twist" if it makes any sense. I've been toying with the prospect of etching it. I may do so, but am fairly certain it won't yield any interesting results... I could be wrong though.

Would this count as a reproduction? Maybe. Definitely does not feel like a tourist piece, and is made by a maranao smith. Then again, who would use this locally to warrant it as a genuine ethnographic piece? What use would a giant Kampilan be in the modern era versus a simple, smaller and more easily transportable kris? I don't know the answers but would love some input. Doesn't feel touristy to me though... but I have trouble arguing against the 'reproduction' label, despite the nature of it being of native manufacture, so you do have me there, kai

It is 5mm thick. A touch thinner when compared to the very old pieces, but is a common thickness among a lot post-WWII blades from the philippines and most modern made blades. (although in modern blades I do love the 1/4 inch/ 6.5mm thick ones the most, you still can't go wrong with a 5mm thick blade. they function just as well)

speaking of thickness, why did blades thin out as time progressed? Was it just that easier and easier access to monosteel made thinner blades as durable as the old thicker ones?