Valiant Swords?

[Steven C.]

Hi, again I was looking at this site, and was wondering if anyone can vouch for how good thier swords are? I'm really interested in thier kampilan (which is sold out at the moment ) but I dont want to make an un-avoidable mistake. Not saying I think thier a scam, I just wanna know for sure, so if anyone who works for Valiant are members here, please dont take offence.

Heres the site:

http://www.valiantco.com/

Thier kampilan is in Phillipines obviously lol.

[nechesh]

Hi Steve. From what i can tell Valiant makes some interesting and fairly accurate repros. But remember that they are still repros. If that is what you are looking to collect that's fine. I also understand that given your age you probably don't have a lot of money to spend on blades.But i serious doubt they will hold their value or appreciate over the years like antique weapons will. Most of us here are interested in the actual ethnographic forms of these blades. I don't think there's ANYBODY making modern kampilan and Moro kris that come anywhere near the quality and beauty of the old blades. You will find that there are a good deal of high quality modern INDONESIAN keris still being made as this art form has a fairly unbroken line of development, but i don't think this is true of the Moro weapons you are interested in.
If i where you i would keep an eye out on ebay for the older varieties of these blades. There are still some bargains to be found and over the years i'll bet you'll be more satisfied with the real thing as opposed to repos. Study these forum threads hard to avoid being taken by fakes.

[Steven C.]

Yes, I'm very much interested in antiques too. But I have a healthy respect for both, and when it comes to money wise issues especially since I'm just beginning reproductions are of interest to me as well. Never said it would be my last kampilan, hehe. I just need to know if this one is good quality and sharp.

Of course when it comes to Moro Kris (I love the sundang style) I definitely plan on going antique!

[kronckew]

valiant offer good quality modern productions of traditional ethnic weapons and tools, the steels, heat treatments and attention to detail are good, and mr. suwandi stands behind his line of products with a good reputation. are they reproductions? i'd say not, they are just new, but are tools and weapons of a style that have been made in the past and like these , are still being made and used. that's one of the joys of this area of the world, you can go into a general store in indonesia out in a village and pick up a parang which is just like one you would have got 100 years ago, is it a repro? his are not the fanciest, or the most decorated, and yes, older ones may be of better quality, but they cost more too.

he has a few antiques for sale as well if you are interested in them, but his new ones are intended as 'users' and some may be the antiques of the future.

i also hang out at another Blade forum or two and valiant has a good reputation for good tools. they are a good starting point. his goloks are usefull camping tools with a bit of class. definitely not 'tourist' junk. his 'damascus' blades are laminated steel rather than pattern welded, which is proper. they,as well as the non-'damascus' ones are hand made & forged rather than machine made junk. his descriptions are accurate and honest & he is a gentleman to deal with.

saying that, he has recently had some personal troubles, and i've been told he needs to go in for an operation shortly, so deliveries may suffer, he's a small one-man band.

here's one of mine that i got from him, non-traditional, greek Kopis with a laminated steel blade, but beutifully made.

also have one of his goloks for camping/hiking. my antiques stay home & look pretty, his i use.

if you are in the USA/Canada , he has a dealer there at

http://stores.ebay.com/Valiant-Co-Blades-USA

bwray has some new stock on the way to build up his stock before suwandi goes in for his operation. bwray is an aqquaintance, but i've known him from another forum (the HI Mfg. forum on bladeforums.com) that deals with high quality nepalese kukhri's, for quite a while now, he also is a gentleman and will deal with you in honour.

check him out also on the big knife forum on Ramanon at http://www.ramanon.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=123 for more info also. please be aware that ramanon is a no holds barred type of forum rather than an educational and historical one like here. some of their other sub forums are not for the faint of heart and cover adult only subjects.

[Rick]

I have never heard anything bad about Valiant ; and I also truly remember being sixteen and wanting instant gratification; I still do .

I think Steven that you have to make a concious choice ; do you want traditional looking manufactured pieces that you can go out and use (hopefully not on your fellow man ) ........... or would you like a genuine piece of Moro military history . You see actually using antiques in the wrong manner will destroy them ; some are still sturdy enough for light use on the proper target materials; If you want something that will become quite valuable as you grow older opt for antiques .

If you want to do some serious cutting consider new stuff .

[Pangeran Datu]

Hi,
Valiant provides good service and the new products it sells are, to my knowledge, good quality. Shortcoming is that they're too busy to answer any queries not directly related to the sale of catalogue items

Cheers.

[kai]

are they reproductions? i'd say not, they are just new, but are tools and weapons of a style that have been made in the past and like these , are still being made and used. that's one of the joys of this area of the world, you can go into a general store in indonesia out in a village and pick up a parang which is just like one you would have got 100 years ago

Yeah, but don't try to get a Sumatran piece from a Central Javanese blacksmith. The Madurese pande are getting better at imitating non-Madurese (and possibly non-Javanese) keris; while some are obviously skilled enough to produce very nice pieces, those blades from outside their own culture are mostly unconvincing repros.

And that Kampilan does not even pass as a repro with a blade that needs to be 50% larger. Try to sell that in Mindanao...

Even within the Moro tribes, you can't just order any Moro blade even from a skilled panday: I'm not sure wether the Maranao craftsmen ever ventured to make a Tausug Barong 100 years ago but nowadays they evidently suck at it. Same-o with a Yakan Pira. OTOH, I wouldn't have much hopes for a Kampilan made in Sulu much less on Luzon or even somewhere in Indonesia...

Regards,
Kai

[VANDOO]

THE ONLY KAMPILIAN I HAVE WITH A SCABBARD IS 40 IN. LONG SO THEIR KAMPILIAN WOULD BE A LITTLE SHORT BUT OTHER THAN THAT LOOKS GOOD AND DOES HAVE A NICE HORN HANDLE WHERE MOST HAVE WOOD. I HAVE A FEW OF VALIANTS SWORDS AND HAVE BEEN PLEASED WITH THEM AND HAVE USED SOME OF THEM FOR LIGHT CUTTING, I ALSO HAVE SOME AROUND FOR USE AGAINST INTRUDERS AND THINK THEY WILL WORK FINE FOR THAT ALSO.

THERE ARE SOME KAMPILIANS STILL BEING MADE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND BEING SOLD AS OLD ONES THEY ARE NOT BAD IF THE PRICE DOSEN'T GO TOO HIGH. IT APPEARS THE BAGOBO OR TIBOLI MAY BE MAKEING SOME OF THEM AS WELL AS THEIR MORE TRADITIONAL SHORT TOK SWORDS. I SUSPECT THE OTHERS ARE COMING OUT OF PANAY OR LUZON ALONG WITH THE PIRA SWORDS, NOW IF WE COULD GET THEM TO MAKE SOME EXCELLENT QUALITY MONSTER HEAD BOLOS

OCCASIONALY I HAVE SEEN OLD KAMPILIANS GO FOR THE PRICE OF THE NEW ONES BUT IT SEEMS THINGS GET HOT AND COLD ON EBAY SOMETIMES ITS A LARGE GROUP BIDDING CRAZY AND SOMETIMES NO BIDS OR RESERVE NOT MET. I GUESS I AM SAYING YOU WILL PROBABLY BE SATISFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE VALIANT SWORD OR YOU CAN WAIT A BIT AND PUT SOME MORE MONEY IN THE POT AND TRY FOR A OLD ONE. GOOD LUCK

[jmings]

I am pleased with my Valient items. My XL Survival Golok may not be historicaly accurate, but while carefully wiping the excess (shipping) oil it tasted my thumb. The Kujang Macan hasen't arrived yet and would seem to be a historic impossibility but sure is beautyful.

[Mickey the Finn]

I can vouch for the quality of Valiantco blades. I own dozens upon dozens of them. I've only had a problem with one blade, which I attribute to my own inappropriate use of a blade with too fine an edge to chop too near the roots.

As far as the monosteel blades go, these are not "wallhangers". The ones I've used are either on-par or better than mass produced machetes from a factory. When it comes to limbing recently fallen/ felled trees, a golok or parang is my first choice; an axe or hatchet is my last choice, and a chainsaw is a non-option. Around here, the chainsaw is the first choice; the axe/ hatchet and bowsaw are what you use if a chainsaw is unavailable. A machete is always a weapon used to rob or kill someone with; it is never, ever simply a cutting tool used in the bush or in the field. Nobody around here knows what a golok or a parang is, and they have neither the inclination nor the patience to learn. If they see one, it usually causes a hue and cry, "He's got a WEAPON! What the F^CK is THAT? That thing is CERTIFIABLE, and so are you! You're not allowed to bring a knife onto the shop floor. You keep them in your locker or you leave them at home".

I have been too cautious to use any laminated/ pattern welded blades for cutting.

They're worried about weapons, yet OLFA knives are standard issue, carpet knives raise no eyebrows [I work in the electric motor industry], nor does the "heavy half" of a break-down billiard cue, golf clubs [iron & wood], a 24" or 36" wrecking bar, or a dressage whip [it was there before I was hired]...

Mickey