Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Two swords being repatriated to the Philippines

Ian · 15th January 2024, 01:11 PM

Bicolano Bat-Headed Sword

The second sword is a bat-headed bolo (don't know the local name) from the southern part of Bicol. Its blade was made by a genius of a panday. The spine is about 3/8 inch thick just in front of the hilt and rapidly narrows to about 1/16 inch where the clip to the point begins; thereafter it becomes a sharpened back edge. On each side of the blade, the blade is beveled in two directions, towards the cutting edge and towards the spine, resulting in a somewhat diamond cross-section. The beveling is more obvious on the obverse side where there is a small ridge running down the middle of the blade. While it sounds simple, it is complex and time-consuming to forge and grind such a blade symmetrically and have it all come to a nice acute point. The point shows use and has been bent and straightened a few times. The back and cutting edges also have nicks from use. Of note, the thickness of the blade is only 1-2 mm in its distal third, which makes it light and "fast;" well suited for cut and thrust at close quarters. The blade appears to have some age and has been used. Although the octagonal horn hilt seems quite modern with its finger grooves, I'm told that such hilts were around before WWII and that finger grooves may have been adopted from knives used by U.S. troops. I'm thinking this one probably dates from the WWII era.
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15th January 2024, 01:11 PM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,336	(continued) Bicolano Bat-Headed Sword The second sword is a bat-headed bolo (don't know the local name) from the southern part of Bicol. Its blade was made by a genius of a panday. The spine is about 3/8 inch thick just in front of the hilt and rapidly narrows to about 1/16 inch where the clip to the point begins; thereafter it becomes a sharpened back edge. On each side of the blade, the blade is beveled in two directions, towards the cutting edge and towards the spine, resulting in a somewhat diamond cross-section. The beveling is more obvious on the obverse side where there is a small ridge running down the middle of the blade. While it sounds simple, it is complex and time-consuming to forge and grind such a blade symmetrically and have it all come to a nice acute point. The point shows use and has been bent and straightened a few times. The back and cutting edges also have nicks from use. Of note, the thickness of the blade is only 1-2 mm in its distal third, which makes it light and "fast;" well suited for cut and thrust at close quarters. The blade appears to have some age and has been used. Although the octagonal horn hilt seems quite modern with its finger grooves, I'm told that such hilts were around before WWII and that finger grooves may have been adopted from knives used by U.S. troops. I'm thinking this one probably dates from the WWII era. . Attached Images Last edited by Ian; 15th January 2024 at 01:23 PM.