This is another one of those items that I just could not pass up on after seeing it. Why I do this is beyond my understanding, thankfully it was very reasonably priced. As I have seen bolos with painted hilts before, but even the 9 inch blade on this one has had something (hopefully just more paint) done to it as well. I'm interested in knowing if the paint on the hilt of this should be left "as is"
or removed?
It would be interesting to see what is beneath all that gaudy makeup and see if the hilt is made from horn or wood, but if this was originally meant to be like this (which I surely hope it was not) I do not want to disturb it. As this seems to have a monster hilt with steel ferrule, short tang but not a chisel edged blade (something that would be expected on a Visayan piece) any comments as to where it might originally be from and an estimate of its possible age would be greatly appreciated. Because it has not arrived I can only post the auction photos and they leave a lot to be desired in quality.
Best,
Robert