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#1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: between work and sleep
Posts: 731
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So I saw this blade for about $5 (in USD) I think...
and I recognized the shape immediately! And of course, I bought it. It's a relatively unremarkable blade, not very thick, long, has that characteristic spike, lines on the tang, and an interesting golden dot near the base. But despite it's plain-ness, I still wonder and have questions... Could the dot be a brass or bronze insert? What is it for? The lines on the tang - why? The small bumps on the spike, what do they mean? Where do you guys think this kampilan blade is from? Mindanao? Timor? Sulawesi? How old? Before WW2? Post-WW2? A couple years ago?Here's some pictures, hope to take better ones tomorrow... ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#2 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,189
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Well, might take a guess at WW2 blade or slightly earlier, but not sure.
The lines in the tang are to give the pitch inside the hilt something to grab onto. And the brass/bronze dot? - some say it would mean how many that blade has killed, but I question this - not much evidence one way or the other. Notches in the spike? In this case, no idea. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
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Thanks for the reply Battara!
The brass dots... aren't those also found on Borneo blades sometimes, such as Mandau/Parang Ilang? I've always wondered what the spike meant, and the variations in the spikes too... |
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#4 |
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Location: Louisville, KY
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Yes brass dots have been found on those too.
I think a lot of that information has been lost over time. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
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Ah well, time to attempt to make a handle for this blade!
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#6 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,189
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Mabuting Kapilaran, Viel Gluck, Buenos Suerte, and Good Luck!
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#7 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Posts: 1,254
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Markedly similar to one that was recently on ebay; I might can get an auction # Both the lack of a rear "shoulder" to the tang and the intentional ruffing of its surface make me think of Borneo for some reason. The mushroom-cap-like swelling to the spikelet was there, too...
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#8 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Manila, Phils.
Posts: 1,042
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![]() Quote:
Thus local swords (and other objects) can be found to have some bronze item in them (e.g., bronze inlays in the blade). He said that that may also explain why some Moro kampilans would have bronze inlays on the blade. He added that before they became Moros (Muslims), these people used to be mostly Manobos (i.e., one branch of the Lumad peoples). I guess the professor is talking about certain Moros in mainland Mindanao. In any case, his main point is that it is not a surprise at all to find bronze inlays in swords and other objects, owing to the said local religious belief. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Manila, Phils.
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Vinny, we can't see the pics
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#10 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Witness Protection Program
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I remember as a kid, i was told those old singko sentimos (the big ones), were good deterrents for evil spirits. No wonder, since it was made out of copper or brass
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#11 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Manila, Phils.
Posts: 1,042
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i also recently learned from anthropology professors here in the country of one related folk belief. that is, if a baby can't get to sleep at night and cries a lot, the traditional belief is that one should place a knife or scissors (or any other metal) underneath the duyan (cradle) of the baby. i guess the thinking there is that perhaps the baby is getting bothered by bad spirits. and the metal is supposed to ward away those pesky spirits. so i told the professors that that explains why i sleep so soundly at night. and that's because i have plenty of them blades even under my bed! ![]() |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
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i have a newish 'villager' dyak parang that has a pair of brass dots, tho they're nearer the pointy end. i seem to recall being told that the smiths would drill a hole thru there to show the customer it was steel all the way thru, then they'd peen a brass piece flat in it to fill it up. there is a similar hole in the krewit near the grip where you can see the brass slug was not initially round as it's not completely filling the hole on one side. i suspect they are just a traditional decoration like copper & brass inlays on my flyssa, dhas, etc...
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#13 | |
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Location: Louisville, KY
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#14 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: between work and sleep
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My progress so far:
Here's the blade is better lighting... took some measurements... ![]() Make rough sketches of the handle on wood... ![]() Saw, chisel, hatchet, and hammer: rough shape of hilt... ![]() but I broke the guard when I chiseled too aggressively... In any case this is poplar wood, so not extremely strong nor suitable for the kampilan I think, but good practice for me anyhow... What would the "appropriate" wood be? Kamagong? Amboyna? Ebony? Those harder woods are probably expensive and even harder to carve... ![]() Thoughts? |
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#15 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: OKLAHOMA, USA
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THE INFORMATION I HAVE ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHILIPPINE MORO AND BORNEO KAMPILIANS POINTS TO THOSE FROM BORNEO HAVING SHORTER JAWS. SEE TWO EXAMPLES. PHILIPPINE MAHOGANY WOULD BE A GOOD WOOD AS IT DOESN'T SPLIT WHEN WET SO WOULD FARE WELL IN A SALTWATER ENVIRONMENT.
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#16 | |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,189
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus Macassar ebony is kamagong, but to get a completely dark piece is difficult, expensive, and even harder than all the rest. I would suggest walnut or padauk - neither are endangered (padauk in the US is from Africa, narra from Southeast Asia is endangered at present). |
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#17 | |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Manila, Phils.
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Here's a quote from another source, where the use of brass/bronze is more to appease the spirits, rather than to ward them off: The Tboli [a non-Muslim, non-Christian people of Mindanao in southern Phils.] also believe in busao (malevolent spirits) which wreak havoc on the lives of human beings, thus causing misfortune and illness. Desu or propitiatory offering of onuk bukay (white chicken) or sedu (pig) are made to placate or gain favors from these evil spirits. Tboli rites are normally presided over by a morally upright elder who is proficient in Tboli tradition. Often enough, the datu themselves preside.But I guess it's two sides of the same coin - the thing that is feared is also oftentimes the thing craved for. |
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#18 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Houston, TX, USA
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yeah, a pretty strong curve in the ebay photos, huh? odd
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