Philippine Bronze/Brass Bladed Dagger

[Robert]

I picked up this dagger a few months back and finally found a bit of time to take some photos of it to share here on the forum. I believe that this late 19th century bronze/brass bladed Luzon dagger was mostly talismanic or ceremonial in purpose, but because of how well it is made it could very easily be used for self defence or attack if needed. The thick heavy blade has never been sharpened so it has no true cutting edges, but it has a wicked point. A friend who was butchering his hogs allowed me to test its stabbing ability on one of the (already dead) hogs. It was surprising that it didn't take much effort at all to plunge the blade clear to the guard through the skin, flesh and internal organs. Unfortunately like most daggers of this age the leather sheath was missing. Any comments or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Robert

[Miguel]

Hi Robert,
What a beautiful knife, I wonder if the designer of the WW2 British commando knife had seen one of these as their form is strikingly similar. Thank you for sharing.
Miguel

[Sajen]

Hello Robert,

very nice dagger, I am green with envy! I think that it is much older as WWII, could even be a Katipunan area dagger.

Regards,
Detlef

[Robert]

Miguel, Thank you for your kind words. This style of dagger can be found all over the world with Spain, france and Mexico being just a few of many countries where it was used. This dagger shows a great amount of Spanish influence in its design no double from the hundreds of years of Spanish occupation. The British commando knife/dagger is just one of many daggers with this styling.

Detlef, Thank you for your kind words as well. I thought that you would like this piece as we so frequently find ourselves bidding on the same items on ebay. I do not believe that Miguel was saying that he thought this dagger was from WWII, but was just comparing the British dagger to it in styling. I believe this dagger to be from the late 19th century. If I am correct in its age it would have been from the right era so as you have suggested it could very possibly be a Katipunan piece as well.

Best,
Robert

[Robert]

I have just added a photo to my original posting above that was most graciously sent to me by Lorenz, AKA Migueldiaz that explains the symbolic significance of the features of this dagger and others like it. I would like to again thank Lorenz for this information and hope that this will be of as much interest to other forum members as it is to me.

Best,
Robert

[Ian]

Robert:

Excellent post! The knife is wonderful, but the explanation of the symbolism is very helpful. I have heard several versions of this symbolism before from a few Filipinos, but the graphics that you show make it all so much clearer.

It is interesting that the tripartite "Spanish" hilt fits so neatly into a traditional, three-layered view of the animalist world--the brass ferrules in this case separating the three elements. We should go back through past posts and identify similar iconography.

Ian.

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by Robert

Miguel, Thank you for your kind words. This style of dagger can be found all over the world with Spain, france and Mexico being just a few of many countries where it was used. This dagger shows a great amount of Spanish influence in its design no double from the hundreds of years of Spanish occupation. The British commando knife/dagger is just one of many daggers with this styling.

Detlef, Thank you for your kind words as well. I thought that you would like this piece as we so frequently find ourselves bidding on the same items on ebay. I do not believe that Miguel was saying that he thought this dagger was from WWII, but was just comparing the British dagger to it in styling. I believe this dagger to be from the late 19th century. If I am correct in its age it would have been from the right era so as you have suggested it could very possibly be a Katipunan piece as well.

Best,
Robert

Just thought you may like to see these Spanish knives and a British Commando knife showing the similarity of design. One of the Spanish knives has obviously been made from a socket bayonet. The one having the engraved brass handle and scabbard looks as though the blade is brass when in its scabbard, the scabbard being that thin and such a snug fit.
Trusting they are of interest,
Miguel

[Robert]

Hello Miguel and thank you for posting the photos of the very nice Spanish daggers. As quite a few Philippine edged weapons show a good bit of Spanish influence in there design it is always nice to see items that might have been of the same style that originally lead to their transition.

Best,
Robert