Help with the Moro Kris/Kalis/Sundang

[xasterix]

Hullo IP! Thanks for reading my article (and thanks for the referral as well Ian!)

As you may have noticed in my article, the samples were from a particular era (late 1800s-early 1900s), as those were the kalis and kris that I've been most exposed to, and had the privilege of studying. I believe all the samples you presented in this post fall under that era.

I look at all the details at the base of the blade, particularly the elephant trunk and the 'katik' or notched guard. Then there are secondary considerations... for example, Sulu kalis usually have slightly smaller blades than their Mindanao counterparts; Maguindanao blades have an outline at the elephant's "mouth," Maguindanao and Maranao battle blades have raised spines at the middle, etc.

If I were to label your sample-blades from left to right as A, B, C.

A is a bit blurry, so I can't give an ID. Meanwhile, B is likely Maranao. C is likely Maguindanao.

The dress of A is Sulu; the scabbard, kakatua and proportions to the hilt, the way the asang-asang are attached to the hilt, the ferrule- all Sulu in my eyes. I believe the dress is as old as the blade, or at least belongs to the same era.

The dress of B is also Maranao- but if what I'm guessing is correct (that the material used is aluminum), then it's of WW2 or postwar make.

The dress of C is Maguindanao. I believe the hilt wrap may have been "upgraded" at a later time. The hilt wrap looks like brass wire-wrap with interspersed brass bands. The asang-asang is also brass, possibly upgraded the same time as the hilt.

With regard to performance.

Among the hilts, here's what I observed:

-All hilts traditionally have a wood core; sometimes the pommel and grip are made as one piece, sometimes they're separate. I favor those made as one piece with hemp or rattan wrap- something like C's, but in its "original" version, and not the upgraded one. The brass or silver wires are a literal pain once they fray. There's a reason why the simple hilts were attached to battle blades- because they were the most functional and least likely to break.

-If the pommel is ivory, the hilt comes in 2 pieces. Regardless how well the ivory pommel part is attached, if the hilt suffers a lot of stress (prolonged and repeated use), the middle part (grip) will eventually break. Ivory is usually "heavy" and I'm guessing the physics of having something modular at the end of the hilt results in significant strain on the wooden grip.

-If the pommel is light metal, the hilt will last longer than an ivory-pommel one, although not as comfortable and resilient as wooden pommels.

Among the blades, here's what I observed:

-Not all kris and kalis blades are made equal. Some are too soft, and the edge might misalign easily. Some are too rigid, and the edge might crack because of the brittle-ness. Heat treatments vary. I personally prefer a balance between the two.

-Blades with little to no lamination cracks perform better overall. It's difficult to find a twistcore blade which retains its edge after repeated stress, but such samples exist.

-There are exceedingly rare kris/kalis blades with exceptional heat treatment that perform like in the stories. I've tested one such blade- repeated strikes on dry bamboo, with no damage at all on the edge, very minimal bends after 5 straight minutes of sustained, repeated abuse. A modern smith couldn't believe its performance, and attributed it to the exceptional heat treatment and edge geometry.

Hope this helps!