Khul old Moro Barong

ndoghouse · May 16, 2015

The sun popped out for just long enough to snap a few shots of my new Barong today

Here are the specs:
OAL=23.75"
Weight=24oz.
Max spine thickness=0.185 inches
Blade is laminated steel
Split wooden sheath with carved finials (bands missing)

At one time it obviously had a wrap to hold the sheath together but it has since disappeared. Anyone know where to get rattan or reed whatever it is to restore it I would like to do so. Otherwise ill have to make a bunch of agave cord and do it like they did. The hard way

.

When I received it the halves were slightly glued together and the finial at the end had broken off...again. It obviously had a repair at one time. I went ahead and split the case halves so to speak and glued the broken piece back together. Im pretty sure the two halves were only held together with wrap and not glued so Ill keep it that way.

The seller said it was very sharp and he wasnt kidding. Heres one light swipe across my million dollar leg (im self depricating now arent I? )

Some nice lamination patterns! I wonder if I should etch it a bit or leave it alone? Still trying to decide.

Not sure what the wood is but its nice and red and burly.

Silver bolster or ferrule.

Im amazed these havent broken off yet. Theres a little checking in the handle but all is still there. What an amazing weapon this is. Thought yall might want to see this blade up close. By all means if you have one yourself feel free to post it. Ive seen a few others with the wrap still intact but they get pretty expensive when complete. Thanks my friends! Enjoy!
kamidog

DarthTaco123 · May 16, 2015

I needs me one of these! Looks fantastic Kamidog!

Scara · May 16, 2015

I need a full-sized barong. They're just too cool and effective for me not to want one. That one's also a beauty, though I do personally prefer something simpler for myself. It's rather ironic, I tend to be a very utilitarian person, yet most of my knives are handmade with high production values, and traditional as opposed to modern.

J W Bensinger · May 16, 2015

Very nice Ndog. I restored one a couple years ago-they're nice to have around. Mine was not swingable-wood and pitch were kinda on the old side. That looks like a score.

ndoghouse · May 17, 2015

This one is pretty solid. The ferrule is loose but the blade is solid in the hilt so I aint messin with it. I could try heating the ferrule and see if the it will stick up or even work some glue into it but I dont plan to fight with it so Ill probably leave it alone and admire it.

These are pretty simple blades scara. The sheath has a bit of carving and some minor carvings on the hilt but a modern blade with the same general form would be really cool to play with. Id love to have a custom made just like this one:thumbup:

Scara · May 17, 2015

ndoghouse said:
These are pretty simple blades scara. The sheath has a bit of carving and some minor carvings on the hilt but a modern blade with the same general form would be really cool to play with. Id love to have a custom made just like this one:thumbup:

It's mostly the sheaths and handles that can be a bit more complicated than I'd like, with fiddly bits that can break off. The barong with the handle made by Bawanna is pretty close to my ideal. And I know JW makes small barongs regularly, and I'm sure he makes big ones too.

Rhinoknives1 · May 17, 2015

Sweet score!

I love those Barongs! FFG! That will slice & dice! If you want to etch it to bring out a little more contrast. Get a gallon of apple wine Vinegar, a flat roaster pan and a box of baking soda to dump on the steel after you decide you like the etch and want to stop it. a little scotch brits pad to scrub it with the baking soda still on it will bring out the pattern and stop the oxidation.

kronckew · May 17, 2015

traditionalfilipinoweapons (.com) in conneticut makes a couple of nice user barongs. razor sharp 5160/d2 steel. reasonably expensive but worth it.

my tfw visayan barong 18in. blade (paracord is mine - brown desert cam would be better)

they also make a more std. 15" bladed one. looks a lot like yours. note the central single rattan wrapping.

you can wick some superglue into the cracks in your grip to ensure they do not go anywhere. the fancy little bits on antique ones generally get broken off, so be careful with yours. they're worth more with unbroken grips.

steve furguson has posted a thread on how to replace missing rattan turks head wraps on scabbards that is worth reading. LINKY

scabbard frequeantly are missing entirely as they would drop them on the ground where they gathered before battle, and would pick them back up again after, if they won. if not, they didn't need them any more.

J W Bensinger · May 17, 2015

ndoghouse said:
a modern blade with the same general form would be really cool to play with. Id love to have a custom made just like this one:thumbup:

MUAHAHAHAHAHA

DarthTaco123 · May 17, 2015

"And as if almost on que, a wild J.W Bensinger appeared!"

nepki · May 17, 2015

Thank you for sharing your Barong ndoghouse.

I have only one and it was my late father's. I don't know where he got it from or it's history. Has been with us for almost 40 years.

Perhaps someone can give more info on it.

Photos were taken with a phone camera in poor lighting.

Bawanna · May 17, 2015

Nepki, I can't help with history one bit but that thing is gorgeous. Very nice.

Bawanna · May 17, 2015

J W Bensinger said:
MUAHAHAHAHAHA

Man my dress is blown up around my neck. I love that. EMS and the HI Power too.

cmegovert · May 17, 2015

Those are interesting blades....hum another one to collect...oh NO!

ndoghouse · May 17, 2015

Rhinoknives1 said:
Sweet score!

I love those Barongs! FFG! That will slice & dice! If you want to etch it to bring out a little more contrast. Get a gallon of apple wine Vinegar, a flat roaster pan and a box of baking soda to dump on the steel after you decide you like the etch and want to stop it. a little scotch brits pad to scrub it with the baking soda still on it will bring out the pattern and stop the oxidation.

Thanks Rhino. Apple cider vinegar same thing right? I think ill do that on this one. It really has some nice patterns. Especially around the edge. Thanks for the info.

edit: OK bro. Etch is on! My wife uses apple cider vinegar for everything. cleaning, hair care, sanitizing, she drinks it... never in short supply. She even makes it herself. Sure does stink when shes fementing it. Whew!!! Thats ok tho because I have 150 pounds of blackberries fermenting in the bedroom now. I call it a draw

kronckew said:
traditionalfilipinoweapons (.com) in conneticut makes a couple of nice user barongs. razor sharp 5160/d2 steel. reasonably expensive but worth it.

Thanks Kronck. Awesome links. Thats exactly what I was looking for. I have looked through their website and they do make some cool stuff. Ill treat this one nicely because it is an antique but being able to handle it a bit makes me definitely want to get one I can beat around and play with.
That rattan wrap is what I want to do with mine. I have to integrate the crossovers from front to back bands as well somehow but once you get that pattern down It should be possible to figure out. Ill play with some string first and If I get it right ill do it for real. There was also wrap on the handle like the one Nepki posted and like JW's blade. Id like to do that as well. Should be a fun project restoring it. Thanks for all the good info Kronck:thumbup:

J W Bensinger said:
MUAHAHAHAHAHA]

I was hoping you'd chime in here JW. I do recall seeing another one you made (I think it was you?) I thought was longer but that short one is really cool. They really are pretty dang big blades but that one you could easily carry. Very nice piece. Kinda looks old too.

nepki said:
Thank you for sharing your Barong ndoghouse.

I have only one and it was my late father's. I don't know where he got it from or it's history. Has been with us for almost 40 years.

Perhaps someone can give more info on it.

Photos were taken with a phone camera in poor lighting.

Thank you Nepki. That one is gorgeous. Even better since it is a family heirloom. Love the carvings and the shape of the sheath. That looks to a bit longer than mine even? I notice yours has a bevel on both sides like mine. I have heard they commonly have single bevel as well. In that case I guess it would have to on the side of your strong arm? Thanks for posting them pics. Ill use them for reference to fix mine up. I wonder if mine had wrap on the ferrule like that? I know it had it on the hilt on the back of the ferrule.

Scara · May 18, 2015

ndoghouse said:
edit: OK bro. Etch is on! My wife uses apple cider vinegar for everything. cleaning, hair care, sanitizing, she drinks it... never in short supply. She even makes it herself. Sure does stink when shes fementing it. Whew!!! Thats ok tho because I have 150 pounds of blackberries fermenting in the bedroom now. I call it a draw

I guess you'll need the barong for when the revenuers come 'a calling.

kronckew · May 18, 2015

Scara said:
I guess you'll need the barong for when the revenuers come 'a calling.

that's old school. ATF doesn't like losing any agents or parts thereof. they'd do a waco on you.

my FIL in his moonshining days had a party line* phone, people along the dirt road he lived on would phone everyone else on the road if a strange car came down the road. the kids were great at 'repairing' the revenoor's car while he was out of sight, accidentally removing the battery, spark plug wires, distributor rotor, adding a bit of moonshining sugar to improve his gasoline, and tires developed mistyrious sidewall holes, etc. if they liked him (they of course knew most of them on sight), they might just switch a few spark plug wires around to improve the firing sequence,

* for you new kids, a party line was one physical copper wire land non-mobile phone line shared by a few, 4-5 or so, other households in an area, or road. if you called the number, every one could pick up the phone and listen in. if you needed to call out, and someone was using the line, you'd either wait till they hung up, or holler at them to get off the line. if you got two busybodies gossiping on the line, it could get interesting. everybody knew everybody else's business, kinda like twitter/facebook, without the pictures or writing, just sound. the line actually ran down along the road on tall posts we called 'telephone poles', branching out to your house when it passed it. bit like a perpetual conference call.

'get off the phone aunty mabel, i jes put the bushhook half thru my leg & need to call doc richards.'

'now listen here gurney, you'll jes have ter wait till i finish my story to yer aunt louisa about sally down the road an' her new boyfriend, an' don't you be bleedin' all over yer maw's nice new rug she been tellin' us about'.

'aw, aunty mabel, it's important!'

'sose my story!.'

'but'

aunty louisa: 'well, y'all will have to wait, respect yer elders or i'll come over an' bring the birch and make you fergit that scratch on yet leg!'

mizzus peabody: 'yes, i been listnen fer an hour an' i want ter heer the end of it. tie an ol' dishrag around yer laig & wait yer turn.'

davidf99 · May 18, 2015

kronckew said:
traditionalfilipinoweapons (.com) in conneticut makes a couple of nice user barongs. razor sharp 5160/d2 steel. reasonably expensive but worth it.

my tfw visayan barong 18in. blade (paracord is mine - brown desert cam would be better)
View attachment 544546

they also make a more std. 15" bladed one. looks a lot like yours. note the central single rattan wrapping.

View attachment 544547

I bought three of the TFW blades in the past few weeks -- a Kambantuli, a Ginunting sword, and a Hagibis knife (which is like a miniature Ginunting). I'l post pictures of them when I get a chance. The quality is excellent.

blue lander · May 18, 2015

Niice! For what it's worth, I tried etching my Barong with warm vinegar and it didn't do jack. I ended up having to use FECL (PCB Etchant). I diluted it 1/3 with water, nuked it in the microwave for 30 seconds. I also heated the blade up. I rubbed the blade with the hot FECL for about 30 seconds (if you don't rub it beads up and you get an uneven finish). Then I washed the blade down with windex to neutralize the acid. Repeat until the etch looks the way you want it to.

Moonw · May 18, 2015

kronckew said:
that's old school. ATF doesn't like losing any agents or parts thereof. they'd do a waco on you.

my FIL in his moonshining days had a party line* phone, people along the dirt road he lived on would phone everyone else on the road if a strange car came down the road. the kids were great at 'repairing' the revenoor's car while he was out of sight, accidentally removing the battery, spark plug wires, distributor rotor, adding a bit of moonshining sugar to improve his gasoline, and tires developed mistyrious sidewall holes, etc. if they liked him (they of course knew most of them on sight), they might just switch a few spark plug wires around to improve the firing sequence,

* for you new kids, a party line was one physical copper wire land non-mobile phone line shared by a few, 4-5 or so, other households in an area, or road. if you called the number, every one could pick up the phone and listen in. if you needed to call out, and someone was using the line, you'd either wait till they hung up, or holler at them to get off the line. if you got two busybodies gossiping on the line, it could get interesting. everybody knew everybody else's business, kinda like twitter/facebook, without the pictures or writing, just sound. the line actually ran down along the road on tall posts we called 'telephone poles', branching out to your house when it passed it. bit like a perpetual conference call.

'get off the phone aunty mabel, i jes put the bushhook half thru my leg & need to call doc richards.'

'now listen here gurney, you'll jes have ter wait till i finish my story to yer aunt louisa about sally down the road an' her new boyfriend, an' don't you be bleedin' all over yer maw's nice new rug she been tellin' us about'.

'aw, aunty mabel, it's important!'

'sose my story!.'

'but'

aunty louisa: 'well, y'all will have to wait, respect yer elders or i'll come over an' bring the birch and make you fergit that scratch on yet leg!'

mizzus peabody: 'yes, i been listnen fer an hour an' i want ter heer the end of it. tie an ol' dishrag around yer laig & wait yer turn.'

Hahaha!