First Moro Kris (Straight Sulu piece)

Croccifixio · 28th August 2015, 02:40 AM

A bit of a background:

I'm a relatively young Filipino sword enthusiast. It's been less than a year since my interest was piqued. Since then, I've accumulated around a dozen or so reproduction blades, half of them Filipino and the other half mixed European/Asian.

After a rapid growth in my personal interest for Filipino swords, I stumbled upon this forum and began to read it regularly, in the hopes of learning more about these amazing weapons - art pieces, even, and perhaps a bit of my heritage as well. You see, my grandfather grew up in Sulu before clan warfare forced him to seek better pastures in Manila. WWII exploded and he faked his age and entered the guerilla army (he was 16 at that time).

His stories always stayed with me, and combined with an interest in swords from when I was a very small boy, led to my now-lifelong passion for swords, and in particular Filipino swords. I now have repros of a Barong, two Sansibars, a Talibon, a Luzon bolo, a Luzon kris, a Southern Gayang... but my heart always sought the beautiful antiques I saw here.

I went through almost all the antique shops in Manila, Pasig, and Davao, and due to this forum, finally went to Mang Ven along del Pilar st. We bonded quite a bit before I finally gave in to his crafty sales talk, and this Kris is the result.

Once I had it in hand, I knew it was going to be mine, although I spent around 6 months in between work hours looking in vain for that gem-in-the-rough (and possibly found it in Davao, though the purchase was vetoed by the wife).

In any event, I'm glad to be here, and to finally post something of value. I hope to grow my collection as time flies by.

3 Questions for those more knowledgeable:

1. Do I remove the seemingly heavy rust spot near the tip of the blade? It doesn't seem to be spreading and it was the exact same size months ago when I first saw the sword. If so, what's the safest way to remove it? Steel wool?

2. In terms of maintenance, is mineral oil all that's required? How about the hilt?

3. The asang-asang has some greenish stain that I think is consistent with brass. How do I get it off? Or should I get it off?

Thanks so much!

- Joren

EDIT: For anyone who can help, how do I attach the files? As per the forum rules, pics should be uploaded, but the uploader does not pop-up when I press the "Manage Attachments" button, both for Firefox and Chrome. I've uploaded my pictures here in the meantime:

28th August 2015, 02:40 AM	#1
Croccifixio Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 33	First Moro Kris (Straight Sulu piece) A bit of a background: I'm a relatively young Filipino sword enthusiast. It's been less than a year since my interest was piqued. Since then, I've accumulated around a dozen or so reproduction blades, half of them Filipino and the other half mixed European/Asian. After a rapid growth in my personal interest for Filipino swords, I stumbled upon this forum and began to read it regularly, in the hopes of learning more about these amazing weapons - art pieces, even, and perhaps a bit of my heritage as well. You see, my grandfather grew up in Sulu before clan warfare forced him to seek better pastures in Manila. WWII exploded and he faked his age and entered the guerilla army (he was 16 at that time). His stories always stayed with me, and combined with an interest in swords from when I was a very small boy, led to my now-lifelong passion for swords, and in particular Filipino swords. I now have repros of a Barong, two Sansibars, a Talibon, a Luzon bolo, a Luzon kris, a Southern Gayang... but my heart always sought the beautiful antiques I saw here. I went through almost all the antique shops in Manila, Pasig, and Davao, and due to this forum, finally went to Mang Ven along del Pilar st. We bonded quite a bit before I finally gave in to his crafty sales talk, and this Kris is the result. Once I had it in hand, I knew it was going to be mine, although I spent around 6 months in between work hours looking in vain for that gem-in-the-rough (and possibly found it in Davao, though the purchase was vetoed by the wife). In any event, I'm glad to be here, and to finally post something of value. I hope to grow my collection as time flies by. 3 Questions for those more knowledgeable: 1. Do I remove the seemingly heavy rust spot near the tip of the blade? It doesn't seem to be spreading and it was the exact same size months ago when I first saw the sword. If so, what's the safest way to remove it? Steel wool? 2. In terms of maintenance, is mineral oil all that's required? How about the hilt? 3. The asang-asang has some greenish stain that I think is consistent with brass. How do I get it off? Or should I get it off? Thanks so much! - Joren EDIT: For anyone who can help, how do I attach the files? As per the forum rules, pics should be uploaded, but the uploader does not pop-up when I press the "Manage Attachments" button, both for Firefox and Chrome. I've uploaded my pictures here in the meantime: Attached Images Last edited by Croccifixio; 28th August 2015 at 08:10 AM.