Impetus for the collection of antique weapons

A. G. Maisey · 4th July 2015, 04:55 AM

At age six, I was given a full size bowie by my uncle. He was a boiler maker, and he'd made it himself.

Age 8 I used my saved up pocket money to buy an OKEH hunting knife while I was on holidays. It had plastic handle that broke years ago, about 30 years ago I re-birthed it as trout-bird.

My 12 yo and 16 yo grandsons are permitted to have pocket knives --- whilst on camping trips. Once home these extremely dangerous Opinels go back to mum for safe keeping.

Talk about a nanny society!!

Battara · 4th July 2015, 05:25 AM

My interest originally started in martial arts, especially escrima and arnis with modern stuff like balisongs. However, right after I got married, I wanted more historical things, so my first old piece was an SA Nazi dagger, but after lots of trading and learning, I moved toward mostly my Filipino heritage.

Now it has grown to mostly Filipino, some Ottoman/Turkish, some Indonesian, Indian, and some sacred/religious weaponry (and some Philippine textiles). I am also interested in Arabic, Scottish, Tibetan, and Japanese to name some other areas of interest.

It is the artwork, spirituality, anthropology, and history of these human symbols and artifacts that keep my interest and connection.

drac2k · 4th July 2015, 03:00 PM

I share your "connections to these artifacts," for the reasons that you stated and if you humor me I will add another one;a "common collective unconsciousness ," that we are all wired into, that links each and everyone of us.
Example:
I am the most difficult person to buy a present for;I will often l tell family members "don't worry about it, I don't need anything." This was unacceptable to my wife, who bless her heart keeps trying and so one year she purchased for me a psychic reading. I told her that I wasn't interested about hearing about the future, it would get here soon enough, but she was undaunted,and she told me it was a reading of past lives;my attitude changed, I thought this would be fun.
I met the psychic, an older woman who took my hand, looked me in the eyes and began to tell me about past lives; she didn't ask me a single question prior to her reading.I almost hit the floor, when she said she saw me surrounded by swords,and that in the 18th century, I was a famous Philippine sword maker.People would travel hundreds of miles to purchase my jeweled
weapons.
The reason why this surprised me was that for some reason, I have always been especially drawn to Indonesian and Philippine weapons and I don't know why, particularly since I am a fairly large white male of Northern Italian and Austrian heritage and prior to my collecting, no interaction with anyone from the Philippine community.

4th July 2015, 04:55 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	At age six, I was given a full size bowie by my uncle. He was a boiler maker, and he'd made it himself. Age 8 I used my saved up pocket money to buy an OKEH hunting knife while I was on holidays. It had plastic handle that broke years ago, about 30 years ago I re-birthed it as trout-bird. My 12 yo and 16 yo grandsons are permitted to have pocket knives --- whilst on camping trips. Once home these extremely dangerous Opinels go back to mum for safe keeping. Talk about a nanny society!!

4th July 2015, 05:25 AM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	My interest originally started in martial arts, especially escrima and arnis with modern stuff like balisongs. However, right after I got married, I wanted more historical things, so my first old piece was an SA Nazi dagger, but after lots of trading and learning, I moved toward mostly my Filipino heritage. Now it has grown to mostly Filipino, some Ottoman/Turkish, some Indonesian, Indian, and some sacred/religious weaponry (and some Philippine textiles). I am also interested in Arabic, Scottish, Tibetan, and Japanese to name some other areas of interest. It is the artwork, spirituality, anthropology, and history of these human symbols and artifacts that keep my interest and connection.

4th July 2015, 03:00 PM	#3
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,255	I share your "connections to these artifacts," for the reasons that you stated and if you humor me I will add another one;a "common collective unconsciousness ," that we are all wired into, that links each and everyone of us. Example: I am the most difficult person to buy a present for;I will often l tell family members "don't worry about it, I don't need anything." This was unacceptable to my wife, who bless her heart keeps trying and so one year she purchased for me a psychic reading. I told her that I wasn't interested about hearing about the future, it would get here soon enough, but she was undaunted,and she told me it was a reading of past lives;my attitude changed, I thought this would be fun. I met the psychic, an older woman who took my hand, looked me in the eyes and began to tell me about past lives; she didn't ask me a single question prior to her reading.I almost hit the floor, when she said she saw me surrounded by swords,and that in the 18th century, I was a famous Philippine sword maker.People would travel hundreds of miles to purchase my jeweled weapons. The reason why this surprised me was that for some reason, I have always been especially drawn to Indonesian and Philippine weapons and I don't know why, particularly since I am a fairly large white male of Northern Italian and Austrian heritage and prior to my collecting, no interaction with anyone from the Philippine community.