Interesting Filipino kampilan

Iain · 12th August 2011, 01:19 AM

What? Me posting something other than a takouba?

I'm sure it will not stay with me long (takouba are just so addicting), but I'm enjoying handling something a little different.

It needs a bit of a clean obviously, but I'm jet lagged and sitting around the house late at night, so thought I'd just throw it up as is.

I would assume from the guard and hilt that the piece would be Luzon or Visayan?

Rather heavy for its size the spine is almost 1cm (4/10s in.) thick at the base and the overall length 81cm (32 in.) Feels like it would be a very capable chopper in the right hands.

Comments, thoughts, all much appreciated.

Rick · 12th August 2011, 01:26 AM

Nice !

An old Kamp blade married to a Northern style hilt .
Blade possibly shortened ?

Sure looks antique (Span-Am era) to me .

Robert · 12th August 2011, 04:36 AM

Hello Iain, This IS a very interesting piece! I'm going to go with Luzon and like Rick says Span-Am War era. Can you see any signs of lamination in the blade? The hilt looks to be made of horn, is this correct? If you do decide to part with this please keep me in mind as it would look great with all my other Northern pieces and would be well taken care of.

Robert

Battara · 12th August 2011, 05:12 AM

So far I agree with the hilt being Luzono and turn of the 20th century.

Strange form of kampilan - almost looks lumad at the end.

Interesting piece in any case.

Iain · 12th August 2011, 03:13 PM

Thanks Rick, Robert and Battara,

Glad to know I did alright with this piece. Turn of the century is about what I figured although I thought the blade had a chance to be a little older potentially. Is the general consensus this was a rehilt or built this way?

It may be cut down, but the thickness on the spine makes me wonder if it would have been much longer as the weight would be rather prohibitive? As it is now there seems to be a reasonable amount of even spine thickness leading rapidly into the distal taper.

(apologies in advance for the less than perfect closeup detail, I was using a 2x teleconverter and the inferior glass kills my image quality somewhat

)

The hilt is horn I'm pretty sure, few close ups attached. The blade, I'm not sure if it's laminated. I haven't handled many laminated blades from this area to be honest. Close ups of that as well so the more experienced can judge. There does seem under magnification to be a possibility it is.

Are there any similar Lumad tips out there I could look at? A quick Google search didn't turn up anything with such a dramatic "curl" in the tip prong. It certainly does not look like a Borneo blade, like some I recall being posted that were refitted in the Phillippines.

Thanks for all the helpful comments guys. :-)

Iain

tom hyle · 14th August 2011, 11:02 AM

blade apears to be a Lumad kampilan; how long is it (the blade)?
Hilt appears to be Batangas or Bikol/Southern Luzon.
Is the tang full length?
This would argue against a rehilt of an originally traditional kampilan.
Too bad I don't have a takouba to swap you

tom hyle · 15th August 2011, 06:20 PM

Those look like orbital sander marks, BTW; probably not original to the blade

12th August 2011, 01:19 AM	#1
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Interesting Filipino kampilan What? Me posting something other than a takouba? I'm sure it will not stay with me long (takouba are just so addicting), but I'm enjoying handling something a little different. It needs a bit of a clean obviously, but I'm jet lagged and sitting around the house late at night, so thought I'd just throw it up as is. I would assume from the guard and hilt that the piece would be Luzon or Visayan? Rather heavy for its size the spine is almost 1cm (4/10s in.) thick at the base and the overall length 81cm (32 in.) Feels like it would be a very capable chopper in the right hands. Comments, thoughts, all much appreciated. Attached Images

12th August 2011, 03:13 PM	#5
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Thanks Rick, Robert and Battara, Glad to know I did alright with this piece. Turn of the century is about what I figured although I thought the blade had a chance to be a little older potentially. Is the general consensus this was a rehilt or built this way? It may be cut down, but the thickness on the spine makes me wonder if it would have been much longer as the weight would be rather prohibitive? As it is now there seems to be a reasonable amount of even spine thickness leading rapidly into the distal taper. (apologies in advance for the less than perfect closeup detail, I was using a 2x teleconverter and the inferior glass kills my image quality somewhat ) The hilt is horn I'm pretty sure, few close ups attached. The blade, I'm not sure if it's laminated. I haven't handled many laminated blades from this area to be honest. Close ups of that as well so the more experienced can judge. There does seem under magnification to be a possibility it is. Are there any similar Lumad tips out there I could look at? A quick Google search didn't turn up anything with such a dramatic "curl" in the tip prong. It certainly does not look like a Borneo blade, like some I recall being posted that were refitted in the Phillippines. Thanks for all the helpful comments guys. :-) Iain Attached Images

12th August 2011, 01:26 AM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Nice ! An old Kamp blade married to a Northern style hilt . Blade possibly shortened ? Sure looks antique (Span-Am era) to me .

12th August 2011, 04:36 AM	#3
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Hello Iain, This IS a very interesting piece! I'm going to go with Luzon and like Rick says Span-Am War era. Can you see any signs of lamination in the blade? The hilt looks to be made of horn, is this correct? If you do decide to part with this please keep me in mind as it would look great with all my other Northern pieces and would be well taken care of. Robert

12th August 2011, 05:12 AM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,226	So far I agree with the hilt being Luzono and turn of the 20th century. Strange form of kampilan - almost looks lumad at the end. Interesting piece in any case.

14th August 2011, 11:02 AM	#6
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	blade apears to be a Lumad kampilan; how long is it (the blade)? Hilt appears to be Batangas or Bikol/Southern Luzon. Is the tang full length? This would argue against a rehilt of an originally traditional kampilan. Too bad I don't have a takouba to swap you

15th August 2011, 06:20 PM	#7
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Those look like orbital sander marks, BTW; probably not original to the blade