Extreme Plamenko?

RobT · 26th May 2024, 08:57 PM

Hi All,

I picked up this knife the other day at a flea market and can’t decide whether it was intended for fighting, camping, or kitchen. I said to the seller that I was sure that it was from the Philippines but I had never seen anything like it. The seller, who is from the Philippines, confirmed the knife’s origin and said that he bought it from a fellow countryman but didn’t know any special name or specific use for it. For me, the blade sort of looks like some kind of weird plamenko, Although it has a blind tang, the eight sided horn hilt with its eight sided steel ferrule is not at all like the plamenko hilts I have seen. The blade is 9” (22.86cm) long, 2-5/8” (6.66cm) wide at the widest, and 1/8” (3.175mm) thick at the hilt without distal taper. The steel is very rigid and the blade resists flexing even out by the tip. When I bought it, the blade and ferrule were well coated with rust but after an overnight soak in EvapoRust and a quick clean-up with a 3M pad, both the blade and ferrule turned out to be remarkably pit free. The mono-steel blade is very sharp, symmetrically ground, and shows no evidence of differential heat treatment on the edge. There is no sheath which, for a kitchen knife, wouldn’t be unexpected but, I have to say, it is one heck of a mean piece for a kitchen knife. To me, it even seems too aggressive for a camping knife and wouldn’t look out of place as a fantasy gamer character’s side arm.

Sincerely,
RobT

26th May 2024, 08:57 PM	#1
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 486	Extreme Plamenko? Hi All, I picked up this knife the other day at a flea market and can’t decide whether it was intended for fighting, camping, or kitchen. I said to the seller that I was sure that it was from the Philippines but I had never seen anything like it. The seller, who is from the Philippines, confirmed the knife’s origin and said that he bought it from a fellow countryman but didn’t know any special name or specific use for it. For me, the blade sort of looks like some kind of weird plamenko, Although it has a blind tang, the eight sided horn hilt with its eight sided steel ferrule is not at all like the plamenko hilts I have seen. The blade is 9” (22.86cm) long, 2-5/8” (6.66cm) wide at the widest, and 1/8” (3.175mm) thick at the hilt without distal taper. The steel is very rigid and the blade resists flexing even out by the tip. When I bought it, the blade and ferrule were well coated with rust but after an overnight soak in EvapoRust and a quick clean-up with a 3M pad, both the blade and ferrule turned out to be remarkably pit free. The mono-steel blade is very sharp, symmetrically ground, and shows no evidence of differential heat treatment on the edge. There is no sheath which, for a kitchen knife, wouldn’t be unexpected but, I have to say, it is one heck of a mean piece for a kitchen knife. To me, it even seems too aggressive for a camping knife and wouldn’t look out of place as a fantasy gamer character’s side arm. Sincerely, RobT Attached Images