Kampilan

[kronckew]

hilt appears to be upside down. as you thought...

here's one the right way up - does look a bit odd that way, so i assume some americans brought them home and 'fixed' them (they had a bad habit of doing that with moro kris too): (sadly, the example is not mine)

p.s. - i'd clean the blade carefully & etch it a bit to pop out that pattern, it'll be eye-poppin' gorgeous. seach for cleaning & etching here on the forum. the holes in the guard would likely have had a large iron staple, possibly with a lot of folds like a potato masher, as a further hand protection the bells on my example are a bit unusual tho.

ferdinand magellan was supposed to have been killed with one.

edited - added a grip example. not all had a potato masher tho, but the holes suggest yours did. they usually wrapped the grips too.

[kai]

Hello Roy,

the holes in the guard would likely have had a large iron staple, possibly with a lot of folds like a potato masher,
<snip>
edited - added a grip example. not all had a potato masher tho, but the holes suggest yours did. they usually wrapped the grips too.

I agree with Wayne that there was an iron guard present in your example (and that some rattan braiding would complement the grip). Actually, if I read the wear correctly, I believe it once had a guard on both sides!

The attachment of these iron staples varies quite a bit (as does the bending of the guard); however, holes going all the way through the (usually but not exclusively) wooden crosspiece are the norm - even with pieces that have only a single guard.

Regards,
Kai