My Talibong/Garab Family

[Pitt1999]

I have only been collecting for about 8 years so far, but I have managed to pick up quite a few of these over those years. If my memory serves me right, the first ethnographic arms I ever purchased as a teenager were talibongs/garabs.

One of the reasons I started collecting antique weaponry is due to fantasy movies and video games. The odd shapes found in some of the weaponry present in this genre of media were so intriguing that I wanted something tangible that was at least similar to the exotic weapons I was fascinated by.

A random stop at a local antique mall led me to the booth of an aging veteran who had some of his bring back knives for sale. I remember buying three things that day, a U.S. air force survival knife, a vietnam war era hmong knife and a ww2 era talibong/garab with turk's head knots replacing some of the missing rattan bands. In my youth I foolishly saw little value in this piece and made some very unprofessional "repairs" like holding the loose rattan bands in place with a string from a yo-yo and hot gluing the loose ends of one of the turk's head knots.

After that I just seemed to acquire more and more of them. They were and still are cheap and available, and you get a very decent quality knife/sword for your money in most cases. In my opinion I would deem them the most plentiful antique/vintage ethnographic weapon available to American collectors.

I have 17 of them, one of them looks to me like it isn't even of Filipino origin, it appears more Indonesian to me, I just included it in the group because the blade shape is so similar. We'll call that one the distant cousin. The last example all the way to the right has a blade shaped more like a kitchen knife but with the hilt and scabbard of a talibong/garab, so that one gets included in the family photo as well. All of mine except one still have their scabbards present, however some of the scabbards are on their last legs. From some missing rattan bands to not having any bands left at all.

There have been quite a few threads about these weapons already but this is the first time I have had all of mine out and I figured I should start a thread of my own. Maybe a few of them are more interesting than I know, as always all comments and feedback are welcomed.

[AHite]

Nice collection! I agree with your statement that talibongs are one of the more commonly available Filipino knives and swords available in the States, because of US servicemen bring backs. I have a couple of talibongs but have passed on many others either due to a condition issue (broken or replaced handles) or just a super high price. Part of my hesitation is due to the knowledge that I have been gaining from this fine forum, which helps me make a better assessment of a piece's true value.

Andrew

[Sajen]

Have also a look here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...talibon&page=2

[kino]

Nice collections.

Not sure if this photo has been posted on the forum pages.
I think it deserves to be seen here.

WWII