Looks Like a Philippine Bowie to Me
an,
The slanted guard and drooping blade/hilt arrangement notwithstanding, I would say that the first example in your latest post is a Philippine Bowie. Currently made sub-hilt Bowies sometimes show these very features. Again, keep in mind that the shape of the original knife created by Resin Bowie is unknown. The only things etched in stone appear to be its large size and cross guard. A look at the wide range of knife styles sold as Bowies in the US by British cutlers supports this. There are even 19th century British accounts calling folding sheath knives whose handles are only long enough to contain two thirds of the blade, Bowies. Given the above, we can surely allow Philippine smiths a good degree of stylistic latitude for their take on the Bowie design.
I would say that, save for the asymmetrical cross guard, your second example with its tapering, double edge blade is an Arkansas toothpick. However, the definition of an Arkansas toothpick as having a tapering, bilaterally symmetrical blade with a bilaterally symmetrical hilt and cross guard isn’t universal. There are 19th century accounts that say the name Arkansas toothpick is synonymous with Bowie.
As far as current carry goes, government restrictions may play a large role in what is permitted in the north (especially in more populous areas). Hopefully somebody in the Philippines can report on the current situation and, if carry of large knives is still allowed, what type of knives are favored.
In any event, those are two really great knives you have there.
Sincerely,
RobT
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