Moro kris...which type ?
 

I got this Moro kris this week. My guess is that it's an all original piece, though in a somewhat battered state.

The blade is curved (15 luk), a bit rusty and shows some signs of pitting. It's rather slender and still very, very sharp.

The handle is wound with cord and attached to the blade with two metal 'straps' (don't know the proper term, sorry :shrug: ). The top part of the handle is missing. Perhaps another forum member could show me what the missing part should be.

The sheath is made out of wood, held together with some iron straps near the bottom and two aluminium (?) straps near the top.

Total length of this piece is 62,5 cm when sheathed. The blade itself measures 53,5 cm. The maximum width of the blade is 2,8 cm.

Hi Freddy,

This is a Maguindanao kris and from around the turn of the 20c. Parts are original except for the aluminum parts which were added around WWII.

What was on top was a section made of different layers of horn or turtle shell, chased and stamped silver, and or MOP. Below are pictures of mine with MOP, turtle shell, and swassa (it is like yours in form).

Hello Freddy,

The fittings on the hilt, are they also aluminium ?

Best regards,
Willem

The fittings do look aluminum don't they?

I was about to say. Silver doesn't tarnish to a blue hue. I wonder if these fittings are Aluminum. It definitely appears so.

In that case, what would the top of the hilt has looked like ?

I don't think they would combine aluminium with MOP and turtle shell, would they :shrug:

you never know. I saw a WWII piece on a youtube video of someone who found a kris from a relative who brought it back from the war, and it had Swassa and silver on the hilt, with some Aluminum bands on the sheath.

I feel that the aluminum was added later or the piece is was later made.