Very Unusual Philippine Sword.

[Robert]

Hello Barry, here is another bolo (that still needs a good cleaning) that I believe to be from the same time frame and possible location. "If" I remember correctly this was described by the seller as being brought back from the Spanish American War. I have seen a couple of knives with metal sheaths (I won one of these) as well as two other swords with metal scabbards, but I was not lucky enough to win either of them.

I THINK THE CLIPPED POINT STARTED DURING SPAIN'S OCCUPATION AND CARRIED ON INTO THE USA PRESENCE.

This is what I have been told as well. With or without a point this is one vicious example of bolo that I do not believe was ever meant for farm work.

Best,
Robert

[Ian]

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

[Robert]

Hello Ian,
Thank you for your very informative response on these two items. Your suggestion that the first sword could possibly be older than the scabbard itself was an idea that Lorenz and I were discussing right after I first acquired this piece with the possibility that the sword likely dating to somewhere between 1850 and 1890 and (as you point out) the scabbard being a later replacement. The very unusual styling of blade is one that I have never seen on any other Philippine sword before and was wondering if you have ever seen anything like it before either?

Best,
Robert

[Kmaddock]

Hi Robert
Looking forward to hearing how the welding was done.

I have used oxo acetylene with fair success in the past but I do not have access to tig or mig so maybe these are ether for blade repair. I also do stick welding but this would be too harsh for blade work.

When repairing breaks, I found it no real problem when working at the spine of the blade but where the blade becomes very thin Towards the cutting edge I found it quiet difficult not to burn through the blade.

Did you find differential cooling a problem, I did in so far as I had to heat the blade either side of the weld to help ease the contraction of the metal from forming cracks.

Best regards
Ken

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Robert

... The very unusual styling of blade is one that I have never seen on any other Philippine sword before and was wondering if you have ever seen anything like it before either? ...

Hi Robert.

Yes, I have seen Luzon knives of this shape before, but not frequently. The curved blade with a prominent "belly" reminds me of the general shape of some of the older Visayan garab. Two examples of this form are shown below from the History of Steel exhibition. The prominent angle of the garab hilt is not present in the few Luzon knives I have seen with this general blade shape.

Ian

[Ian]

Robert,

Here is another blade of similar style from the History of Steel site. The Macao Museum called it a Luzon tabak.

Ian

[Sajen]

Hello Robert,

what a beautiful and unusual bolo with it's tin scabbard. And a very good restoration you have done until now. Please keep us updated with the further steps you will do on it.

Regards,
Detlef

[Robert]

Sorry that it has taken so long to reply, but I have had a long difficult weekend.

Ken,
As far as welding goes I prefer either Mig or Tig over gas welding as it is much easier to control the heat. I always attach a piece of steel formed to fit tightly against the blades surface with a ridge contoured so that the cutting edge fits tightly against it. This is done by fixing the piece in place using thin gauge steel wire. Not only does this act as a heat sink, but allows the weld to be started on the ridge and continue up onto the thicker part of the blade without burning through. Of course it will have to be cut loose from the blade before the weld to the opposite side can be done. I also use heat sink paste on the blade about an inch on either side of where the weld is to be made. After the welding is completed the blade is then inserted into hot sand to slowly cool again before the clean-up and final shaping are done.

Ian,
Thank you again for your comments on this piece and for the photos you have added as examples. I have examples of both styles of knives/swords that you have shown, but this piece is much larger with a much deeper belly than both of my examples of these two other styles do. Just for added information I have added a photo taken from a book (that I will have to look up the name of) that shows one style of the bolos that we have been calling "tabacs" as "katana". There was a slight mix-up of the letter designations of the items in the description section, but the corosponding names have been added to the photo itself.

Detlef,
Thank you for your kind words on the work that has been done to this point. I will add more photos as the work on this progresses. If it were not for your help I would not have been able to add this most interesting piece to my collection.

Best,
Robert