Philippine Dbl Edge Blade w/Sngl Edge Hilt

[RobT]

Hi All,

Although the hilt and blade are both from the Philippines, I suspect that the hilt and blade were originally on two different knives. There are three reasons that I believe this knife is currently a marriage.
1) The double edged blade is bilaterally symmetrical in profile. The hilt, on the other hand, appears to have been fashioned for a single edge blade. In the Philippines, was a single edge hilt style ever traditionally combined with a symmetrical double edged blade?
2) The tang, although plainly visible at the end of the hilt, isn’t peened over (and there is no washer hilt cap either).
3) The blade is far nicer than the hilt.
Specs:
The asymmetrically ground (flat on one side) blade is 10.375” (26.35cm) long and 1.25” (3.175mm) at the widest point.
The wood hilt has a single circumferential groove at midpoint and an animal face (damaged) on the butt.
The ferrule is brass and the guard is steel.
Any opinions/information/examples will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Battara]

Interesting Visayan piece with makeshift talismanic deity.

[Ian]

Rob,

I think your blade with a triangular cross-section is likely Spanish Colonial and 19th C in manufacture. As such, the blade may have been made in Luzon, and I don't see much to indicate a Visayan origin. The hilt seems mismatched, although I have seen other triangular Philippines' blades mounted with S-guards.

Here is one of mine that has a triangular blade in cross-section and an S-guard. I had suggested that this ensemble may have been WWII era, but it might also be very well preserved and date back to the 1890s/early 1900s.
.

[Battara]

Oh I see the tang now through the end. I change to Luzon then.

However, I've seen colonial ones made in the Visayas like this. The hilt is more Visayan, so perhaps cross cultural stuff is going on here.

[RobT]

Ian,
Thanks for the link to your blade. While the guard on your dagger is asymmetrical, it isn’t as emphatically so as mine is with its knuckle bow. Also the hilt on yours is fittingly symmetrical whereas mine was definitely asymmetrical when the pommel was intact. To me, your hilt and guard look right, mine don’t. By the way, the stereotypical Italian switchblade with its double edged stiletto blade has an “s” shaped guard (which usually also serves as a lock release).

Battara,
If you could post some examples of a symmetrical blade with an asymmetrical hilt and guard, I’d love to see them. I’d also like to see some Luzon examples of tangs protruding from hilts without being peened over some sort of washer or butt cap. I really would like to believe in some sort of cross cultural situation but I fear it is more likely that some Philippine guy born in the latter part of the 20th century and without a real understanding of 19th century aesthetics, had a blade that needed a hilt and a hilt that needed a blade.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Ian]

Rob, looking at the end of the hilt, where the tang peeps through, I think this hilt has been in place a long time—perhaps back to the 19th C. I don't think you have a piece that was cobbled together recently. This is an old marriage IMHO.