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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 33
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Good day all.
I recently purchased my second Moro sword from Mang Venn in Manila (a Barong). As I was there, a particular kris caught my eye and Mang Venn, savvy businessman as he is, lent it to me to "feel" if I wanted to get it too. Honestly, I do. It hit all the right buttons. But one thing that bugs me is identifying whether the kris is from Sulu and whether it's relatively modern or early post-war. The gangya is also confounding to me as the line seems very subtle but I can't confirm if it's actually separate or cosmetic. So help, please! Still new to this compared to you fine folk. But I am very excited as I got to meet a relative who's a politician in Sulu who'll send me a kris once he finds a good one there. Thanks! Regards, Joren |
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#2 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Centerville, Kansas
Posts: 2,196
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Joren, If I understand you correctly this kris is still for sale. As discussing items currently for sale is against forum rules until I hear from you stating otherwise I am locking this thread from comments. PM me with your reply.
Best, Robert |
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 33
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Ah I had to discuss this over the weekend so before the day ended I just bought it. Sorry for the breach in the rules.
A pertinent statistic I forgot to post is the length of the piece in question: 32.5 inches overall with a 24.5 inch blade. Longer than I am used to (apart from some tourist kris I see all over the Philippines). I was told the blade is Maguindanao with recent Sulu fittings. Given the inlays that seems to be the case. The fuller is nicely done. Uniform width throughout. The blade is a bit thinner than I'm used to seeing, but overall it feels very well balanced. The handle does seem a bit tight though. A mother of pearl panel at the very end is broken which I shall endeavor to remedy. All in all I'm very happy with this purchase. My third non-repro moro weapon. There just might be a few interesting pieces left in Manila. |
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#4 | |||
Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,252
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Hello Joren,
Quote:
All 3 pieces seem to have received later Sulu fittings during their working life (with the barung blade being probably the oldest of the lot IMHO); the hilt of this kris seems to be a fairly late replacement though - well after WW2 and more like late 20th century (or possibly recent and artificially aged). I'd be tempted to try replacing it with a more traditional hilt style (make sure to keep the ferrule which seems to be genuine and old while the clamps could need a quality upgrade). Quote:
Quote:
Regards, Kai |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 33
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A sad truth for us local collectors. Shipping and customs issues just makes epray way too hard a market to break through (though some pieces tempt, from time to time).
The proposition of replacing the hilt by myself scares me. While I've handled a great number of pieces, I am not well-versed in what features would be found in a hilt reconstruction despite reading so many posts here about those same features. What kind of hilt would you say fits this piece? |
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