Gunong, goo'na for comment and a lot of questions

RobT · 5th May 2023, 12:54 AM

Hi Interested Party,

Your dagger goes by a number of names that I am aware of; gunong, puñal, puñal de kris (or creese), belt kris. These daggers are Moro weapons. The general consensus is that they were originally designed as last resort hideaways tucked inside the blouse. I really like them and have a good number of examples. What follows are my answers to your questions. Hopefully, Ferguson will weigh in.
Age: If you notice, the curves of the center ridge follow those of the edge. This means that the blade was forged around a mandrel in traditional fashion. The blade could easily be 19th century. It could just as easily be a 20th century blade made in the traditional manner.
Hilt: Although the hilt shape is a bit unusual, it isn’t too far from the norm and I think it is most likely 19th century. It is well fitted to the ferrule and guard which are of traditional style and all three components appear to belong together.
Blade: As far as the profile goes, the blade is as good as it gets. The only way it could be better than shown is if it turns out to be mechanical damascus (which is very likely).
Restoration: If you think that you can get the blade loose without damaging any of the components, by all means do so. Epoxy is tough stuff so, if you have a means to defeat it without damaging anything, we would all like to know about it. Re-affixing the hilt with cutler’s resin or any easily removed fixative is the way to go.
If the blade were mine, I would follow this procedure: Before cleaning the blade I personally would TOTALLY immerse it in Evapo-rust for 24 hours. (If you don’t totally immerse the blade, the Evapo-rust will etch a line in the part of the blade not covered and that line will be darn near impossible to get out). Also note that, If you lay the blade on any Evapo-rust soaked material (as is recommended by the manufacturer), the Evapo-rust will etch the material pattern into the blade if it is left too long. Totally immersing the blade will remove any rust and also show if there is any damascus pattern. Be aware that the Evapo-rust will turn the blade grey. This can be polished out by hand rubbing with a russet brown 3M abrasive pad which will also remove any black rust that the Evapo-rust didn’t get. The hand rubbing is time consuming, so be patient. Once the blade is bright and shiny again, coat it liberally with a 3% nital solution. This will bring out the damascus pattern clearly once again. Oil or wax the blade to protect it.

Sincerely,
RobT

5th May 2023, 12:54 AM	#2
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 476	My Opinions Hi Interested Party, Your dagger goes by a number of names that I am aware of; gunong, puñal, puñal de kris (or creese), belt kris. These daggers are Moro weapons. The general consensus is that they were originally designed as last resort hideaways tucked inside the blouse. I really like them and have a good number of examples. What follows are my answers to your questions. Hopefully, Ferguson will weigh in. Age: If you notice, the curves of the center ridge follow those of the edge. This means that the blade was forged around a mandrel in traditional fashion. The blade could easily be 19th century. It could just as easily be a 20th century blade made in the traditional manner. Hilt: Although the hilt shape is a bit unusual, it isn’t too far from the norm and I think it is most likely 19th century. It is well fitted to the ferrule and guard which are of traditional style and all three components appear to belong together. Blade: As far as the profile goes, the blade is as good as it gets. The only way it could be better than shown is if it turns out to be mechanical damascus (which is very likely). Restoration: If you think that you can get the blade loose without damaging any of the components, by all means do so. Epoxy is tough stuff so, if you have a means to defeat it without damaging anything, we would all like to know about it. Re-affixing the hilt with cutler’s resin or any easily removed fixative is the way to go. If the blade were mine, I would follow this procedure: Before cleaning the blade I personally would TOTALLY immerse it in Evapo-rust for 24 hours. (If you don’t totally immerse the blade, the Evapo-rust will etch a line in the part of the blade not covered and that line will be darn near impossible to get out). Also note that, If you lay the blade on any Evapo-rust soaked material (as is recommended by the manufacturer), the Evapo-rust will etch the material pattern into the blade if it is left too long. Totally immersing the blade will remove any rust and also show if there is any damascus pattern. Be aware that the Evapo-rust will turn the blade grey. This can be polished out by hand rubbing with a russet brown 3M abrasive pad which will also remove any black rust that the Evapo-rust didn’t get. The hand rubbing is time consuming, so be patient. Once the blade is bright and shiny again, coat it liberally with a 3% nital solution. This will bring out the damascus pattern clearly once again. Oil or wax the blade to protect it. Sincerely, RobT