Philippine knife (panabas shaped blade)
 

Won this on Ebay, but haven't received it yet. Looks like a tool rather than weapon, but I haven't seen anything like this before. Blade looks similar to a panabas. Overall length about 18". Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Steve

If you feed this baby human blood, it will grow into a very big Panabas.
Darn! I should have sold this idea to Hollywood! " A little shop of horrors-2"

Steve,

I was watching this also and trying to make up my mind what it is. Some kind of varient tool or mini-panabas?

I like the looks of it and imagine it would be a good Kudzu cutter!

Most likely Lumad
 

This is an interesting knife. I think it will turn out to be a working knife, but I'm not sure from the pictures which side has the cutting edge. The end-on view suggests that the concave edge has been sharpened.

The scabbard seems to be more helpful than the knife. This looks like work from the Bagobo or T'boli, but could be from another of the Lumad groups of Mindanao.

All in all an interesting piece. It recalls an old discusssion on the Forum about 6 years ago. Unfortunately some of the pictures are no longer available. http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000665.html

I have a similar shaped blade in a similar woven scabbard that was sold to me as Bagobo. The sharpened edge of that one is on the convex side.

Ian.

Thanks gentlemen. I'll post more pictures when it arrives.

Steve

The knife finally arrived today. A quick polish and etch revealed a well forged laminated blade. The wood handle is made in two pieces and bound together with rattan and leather. The wood is dark brown with thick black streaks. Very pretty. Black palm? The blade is sharpened on the convex side.
I couldn't find anything similar in Stone's. Don't know what is is, but I like it. :shrug: :)

Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...h-scabbard.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ade-etched.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ched-close.jpg

A huge problem with this one and the other Panabases ( Panabi? :confused: ) is the way their handles and blades are attached to each other. There are no rivets and no cementing substance to prevent the tang from moving up or down within the handle with each strike. My son wanted once to "use" a Panabas to chop off a pretty thin branch ( < 1 inch in diameter). The branch was easily cut with a single stroke but the rattan binding on the handle got torn by the tang. :eek: :(

Saw several of about the same profile, but without the panabas flare at the toe in Mindanoa. All were used as coconut knifes - in fact that what they called them. Ever try and cut one and you'll know you have to have a pretty hefty and sharp blade to do it one swing. The downward angle lets the blade stop in the chopping block before your knuckles get bashed.

Dan

Cool! Thank you sir. :)

Steve