Significance of blacksmith marks/tang stamps on Philippines swords

[Ian]

Hi WW,

Some nice swords and knives you have shown. I can help with a couple of your questions. The third one from the top is from the Batangas-Lake Taal area. I have seen the same mark on other swords from there. I don't recall seeing the other marks that you show.

The "APALIT" stamp refers to the town of Apalit in Batangas Province. It was, and still is, a knife-making area. There is further information about Apalit on this site. If you use the search function, you should find it quickly. It is perhaps noteworthy that Apalit was not far from the former US Air Force base near Mt Pinatubo and the naval base at Subic Bay. A fair number of Apalit knives found there way back to the U.S. as a result.

The "ABRA" inscription may refer to the Province of Abra in the far north of Luzon. It's adjacent to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, being the traditional homelands of the Ilokano people. If your knife came from this general area, then it is almost certainly Ilokano in manufacture. The style of blade is consistent with traditional Ilokano use, although it is a strong utilitarian blade that is found elsewhere in the Philippines as well.

The person here who can probably help the most with answers to your questions is Xasterix and I hope he will drop by soon and give you some feedback.