Old knife with military markings -- ideas?

tom hyle · 15th April 2005, 04:05 PM

Now, I'm gonna rip the lid off my own clam bake, and tell you the big dividing difference between matulis and talibon blades (other than the tang): On the talibon the spine and the cutting edge kink forward at pretty much one same point, but on matulis, as you move down the sword toward the point, first the cutting edge curves forward, then, inches later, the spine, which creates a long widened cutting area in kind of the middle of the blade. Matulis' blade looks like a talibon (or a Laz bichaq/Black Sea yatagan) scabbard.

Conogre · 15th April 2005, 06:56 PM

This thread obviously originated during my "haitus" but I strongly feel that these are definitely Luzon knives made to be used as general purpose pieces, equally tool and weapon, with the flattened tip possibly, but not definitely having something to do with Spanish regulations from time to time.
Thesr's always a chance, of course, that the style was introduced in Spanish trafficking between S. America and Spain and then "made their own" over time, but my question here is how long does a particular style have to be in common use in a country before it's accepted as peculiar to that country?
That sort have thing has been going on since the advent of trade, conquests and warfare and often led to the actual evolution of many weapons types.
I also feel that the "tear drop" handle has been apparent, in one form or another on many Philippino swords for a considerable period and may actually be an indication of a piece whose primary use is oriented toward true weaponry as it allows for "feeling" the correct orientation in the dark, without having to visually inspect it, something not normally required of a tool.
I've seen a small number of these over the past few years and even had one here, which I sadly traded off.
One factor on many that seems evident to me is the angled end often combined with a bellied blade rarely, if ever, shows any sign of having been shortened, but rather the opposite, often with a miniscule swelling to the end indicating that it was forged that way.
One last comment.....the marking on the blade of the piece that started this thread would seem EXTREMELY appropriate on a captured piece, either by a spanish soldier, or equally, even a spanish speaking soldier of another country while it would seem to be improper for an arsenal type weapon.
Mike

15th April 2005, 04:05 PM	#1
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Now, I'm gonna rip the lid off my own clam bake, and tell you the big dividing difference between matulis and talibon blades (other than the tang): On the talibon the spine and the cutting edge kink forward at pretty much one same point, but on matulis, as you move down the sword toward the point, first the cutting edge curves forward, then, inches later, the spine, which creates a long widened cutting area in kind of the middle of the blade. Matulis' blade looks like a talibon (or a Laz bichaq/Black Sea yatagan) scabbard.

15th April 2005, 06:56 PM	#2
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	This thread obviously originated during my "haitus" but I strongly feel that these are definitely Luzon knives made to be used as general purpose pieces, equally tool and weapon, with the flattened tip possibly, but not definitely having something to do with Spanish regulations from time to time. Thesr's always a chance, of course, that the style was introduced in Spanish trafficking between S. America and Spain and then "made their own" over time, but my question here is how long does a particular style have to be in common use in a country before it's accepted as peculiar to that country? That sort have thing has been going on since the advent of trade, conquests and warfare and often led to the actual evolution of many weapons types. I also feel that the "tear drop" handle has been apparent, in one form or another on many Philippino swords for a considerable period and may actually be an indication of a piece whose primary use is oriented toward true weaponry as it allows for "feeling" the correct orientation in the dark, without having to visually inspect it, something not normally required of a tool. I've seen a small number of these over the past few years and even had one here, which I sadly traded off. One factor on many that seems evident to me is the angled end often combined with a bellied blade rarely, if ever, shows any sign of having been shortened, but rather the opposite, often with a miniscule swelling to the end indicating that it was forged that way. One last comment.....the marking on the blade of the piece that started this thread would seem EXTREMELY appropriate on a captured piece, either by a spanish soldier, or equally, even a spanish speaking soldier of another country while it would seem to be improper for an arsenal type weapon. Mike