Very Unusual Philippine Sword.

Ian · 16th September 2016, 08:20 AM

Robert,

Your second example is a Central Luzon matulis from the revolutionary period in the fight with Spain at the end of the 19th C. The word matulis in Tagalog means coming to a point, or sharply pointed, which is an accurate description for large knives/short swords of this shape. Purely a slashing and stabbing weapon. While it could be used as a tool, it is not optimally designed for such work and is therefore mainly a weapon.

Sharply pointed blades such as these were prohibited by the Spanish in the late 19th C. because they were such deadly weapons, hence the amputation of the tips on many pointed blades at that time to conform to the Spanish decree. To own a matulis at that time was to brand you as a revolutionary and a renegade.

As far as tin scabbards, I believe these likely come from later, in the 20th C., when U.S. forces were well established in Luzon. Your first example may well be a knife from an earlier period later dressed up in a fancy tin scabbard.

Ian

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16th September 2016, 08:20 AM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Robert, Your second example is a Central Luzon matulis from the revolutionary period in the fight with Spain at the end of the 19th C. The word matulis in Tagalog means coming to a point, or sharply pointed, which is an accurate description for large knives/short swords of this shape. Purely a slashing and stabbing weapon. While it could be used as a tool, it is not optimally designed for such work and is therefore mainly a weapon. Sharply pointed blades such as these were prohibited by the Spanish in the late 19th C. because they were such deadly weapons, hence the amputation of the tips on many pointed blades at that time to conform to the Spanish decree. To own a matulis at that time was to brand you as a revolutionary and a renegade. As far as tin scabbards, I believe these likely come from later, in the 20th C., when U.S. forces were well established in Luzon. Your first example may well be a knife from an earlier period later dressed up in a fancy tin scabbard. Ian