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26th December 2023, 04:09 PM | #1 |
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You deliver some clean blows with that Kampilan. Doe the blade have a lot of flex?
Good work on the hilt repair. |
26th December 2023, 05:23 PM | #2 |
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27th December 2023, 12:36 AM | #3 | |
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Quote:
What I am curious about by your definition. Can be bent, I interpret as can flex with your hands, (I know I get about 2 inches of flex in the end half if the blades here), but unbent has me thinking that you can bend the blade and it stays bent rather than a tensile flex that retains its shape, and you can then unbend the bend initially made. Am I understanding this correctly? |
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27th December 2023, 02:43 AM | #4 |
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Hello Gavin,
Yes, kampilan blades do have a bit of flex (and will return true if things are not overdone). As you assumed, Ray was referring to the blade setting a bend from poorly aligned cutting attempts; usually, this can be manually straightened out again. (Obviously, this should be avoided with antique blades; OTOH, some trial & error is part of the valuable hands-on research and old blades can be surprisingly resilient...) Regards, Kai |
27th December 2023, 03:40 AM | #5 | |
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Quote:
After that cutting session, my kampilan had a wave-like series of bends; my 2-handed vertical and backhand attempts there were incorrectly done, and the blade state reflected that. I straightened everything out after 2 minutes of bend/unbend with my hands. |
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27th December 2023, 06:07 AM | #6 |
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Thanks for the confirmation Xasterix.
I've nice long Panabas here that has suffered a similar fate through deflection in a previous life. One of the same type you previously presented in your test cut videos. I've made no attempt to rectify it though, something for the future custodian to fix if desired. I find it interesting that the Panabas relies on strapping/binding friction, sometimes combined with resin to retain a blade, whilst the kampilan has the added security of pins, be they exposed or hidden. I've yet to have a Kampilan blade come to me with a loose blade, but many Panabas I've had and handled, you wouldn't swing them without new bindings and resin because so many had blades that could be pulled from the handle with little effort. It is one weapon from the region that would benefit greatly in having pins, but perhaps drilling narrow grips only weaken the hilts? Other sword types from other regions I've seen bend 90 degrees from incorrect cutting approach angles, lesser types fractured or broken. Overall the Philippine weapons are some of the most robust examples in the edged weapons world. |
27th December 2023, 04:04 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
All of those kampilans had thin, highly flexible blades especially near the tip; I could bend all of them with my hands. However, the 4 panabas blades I've studied so far were variable; the largest (and oldest) one had a thin and highly flexible blade quality like a kampilan's; while my favorite panabas (bamboo cutter) has a rigid blade that doesn't flex even when I use my knee. |
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