A pair of interesting Philippine Edged Weapons

[Ian]

Hi Detlef,

Yes, lines on the blade adjacent to the hilt are certainly seen on some Visayan knives and swords, including those with Panay hilts. And yes, an occasional Spanish Colonial blade of triangular cross-section can be found with a Visayan hilt. However, the substantial majority of these triangular cross-section knives and swords are mounted with full-length tang, Luzon (Tagalog or Ilokano) hilts, as the present example illustrates.

Also, in passing, the asymmetrical, slightly curved blade on drac's smaller knife is very unusual. More typically, Spanish Colonial knives of triangular cross-section are straight and symmetrical with a straight ridge running down the middle of the obverse side of the blade. Sometimes, such a blade flares slightly in width just below the ricasso and then tapers with straight edges to an acute point (features seen in the comparison blade in your most recent post). Spanish Colonial swords with a triangular cross-section are more likely, at least in my experience, to have curved blades rather than straight, symmetrical ones.

Drac's smaller knife is of better quality and interest than the larger one IMHO — better made and more uncommon.