Talibong posted on another forum
 

Here's a talibong originally posted for comments at https://sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/t...crollTo=735242 , where I'm also a member.

The OP told me to go ahead and post photos over here. I think it's a very good looking example, but have only a vague idea of where in the Visayans it might come from.

Hi TS:

This is a nice example of the long slimmer version of talibons. I would say it is likely from Samar or Leyte in the eastern Visayas. As far as age, the style is consistent with mid-20th C or later.

Ian.

Inscription on blade appears to be 'Jose Date', is the blade chisel edged? Any other markings? A nice looking weapon even if not too old.

There's the letters "TPF" scratched into the distal end of the suspension loop attachment bracket. From the one blade photo taken, the talibon looks chisel-edged to me. I've posted on SBG, asking the OP to take photos of the other side of the blade. It's curious how many people posting sword photos on the Internet concentrate more on the scabbards than on the blades.

Grips and scabbards get repaired, and replaced, the blade lasts longer. In the Phillipenes the scabbards were generally left on the ground en-mass before you went into battle. If you won, you retrieved it, if you lost, maybe the victor retrieved a scabbard that fit his trophy, but not necessarily yours, or maybe he just took it home and had another made he liked better. Europeans generally carried theirs into battle, so it was easier for a victor to recover the right scabbard. Scabbards tell you a lot tho, and weapons with appropriate scabbards are more expensive.

In major battles, it was worse because the local peasantry like ghouls would come in the night and strip the corpses of anything of value the victors left and were not picky about what they threw together.