Thank you very much Ibrahiim for the quick response!

It is interesting what you note on the fact that most people in specific countries typically are not familiar with names and terminology of the weapons regarded as indigenous there.
Here in Texas, most people would of course know what a Bowie knife is, but few would know anything on its history or specific form.
What I hope to discover, especially as I know many of the members here have collected amazing examples of the kampilan over the years, is that perhaps they have seen documentation, examples and illustration which might establish early use of the form.
Also, thank you for the link to Bill's thread from 2008! I forgot about that

oops, maybe we might just expand on it here?