Africans or dayak bronze hilted swords ?

[Ian]

David, I may have been a little hasty in saying both of these are T'boli. The one with the knuckle bow certainly is. The slightly shorter one has a hilt that might be Bagobo or B'laan. It is not the typical T'boli form. Both hilts appear to be cast from brass.

Similarly, the larger scabbard is typically T'boli. The other one could be T'boli but might be Bagobo or B'laan too. The "tubes" protruding from the end of the scabbard are found on several Lumad scabbards. The shorter scabbard is otherwise rather non-descript with regard to which group it may have come from.

[JeffS]

The one without the guard is Bagobo with a very nicely cast hilt and great scabbard. Nice score. The blade should etch nicely. I like the T'boli scabbard too.

[Ian]

Hi Jeff,

The blade on the Bagobo hilted sword could be of T'boli manufacture. The T'boli blades are high quality and sought after. The Bagobo did use blades acquired from the T'boli because of their quality. This particular blade may have a heat quenched edge. Hard to tell without cleaning and etching.

[Marius66]

Good evening,
I cleaned the blades and hilts ,
Interesting in the bagobo model without guard, we now can see a part of the wood hilt under the brass.
For the blades, both really sharps, I cut myself twice while cleaning them 😁
I used vinegar , it darkened the blades but it don't seems there is a pattern,
Maybe is it useful to sand the blades and use a better etchant ?

[Marius66]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Jeff,

The blade on the Bagobo hilted sword could be of T'boli manufacture. The T'boli blades are high quality and sought after. The Bagobo did use blades acquired from the T'boli because of their quality. This particular blade may have a heat quenched edge. Hard to tell without cleaning and etching.

There is a deep black side and a ''brighter''-""metallic'' on the sharp edge side of the blade without guard.
Is that what you call a '' heat quenched edge'' ?

Kind regards

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Marius66

There is a deep black side and a ''brighter''-""metallic'' on the sharp edge side of the blade without guard.
Is that what you call a '' heat quenched edge'' ?

Kind regards

It could be. Your latest pictures seem to show differential hardening but etching would likely bring it out better. Heat and then quenching with oil or water will create a different crystalline structure and harder edge, which shows as a line along the edge that is a different color from the rest of the blade.

[wildwolberine]

I’m the new owner of this nice-looking tok/kafilan. Looks to have some age? The scabbard retains some of the woven binding and the grass? component. Whatever ornaments were originally present on the hilt appear to be missing. Seller photos, will post this beauty when it arrives!

[Marbel]

Wildwolberine,

That’s a nice and very old Tboli kefilan. Terrific old scabbard as well, which I would identify as Blaan. Nice pick up and thanks for sharing.

Best,
Craig

[David]

Originally Posted by Ian

David, I may have been a little hasty in saying both of these are T'boli. The one with the knuckle bow certainly is. The slightly shorter one has a hilt that might be Bagobo or B'laan. It is not the typical T'boli form. Both hilts appear to be cast from brass.

Similarly, the larger scabbard is typically T'boli. The other one could be T'boli but might be Bagobo or B'laan too. The "tubes" protruding from the end of the scabbard are found on several Lumad scabbards. The shorter scabbard is otherwise rather non-descript with regard to which group it may have come from.

Thanks Ian. These are just slightly outside my field of collection, though i do find them interesting and worthy of study. Nice to know i wasn't too far off.

[Marius66]

Here the knuckle guard and blade,
I will soon clean the scabbards...