muslim weapons

Federico

Federico

Joined
Sep 5, 2000
Messages
1,522
Anyone know if muslim tribes are still making barongs and krises etc... traditionally? If they still are anyone know where they can be found? Or are Luzon knockoffs all that is possible to get here in the States?
 
Dude, go snag a "Kris Cutlery" catalogue...I don't know if they have a presence on the Web, but good luck!
 
Well I collect the darn things. I already know about kris cutlery, Im actually planning on buying a kampilan soon from them. Just wondering if their stuff is the only stuff to be had. Or if muslim tribes are still producing stuff traditionally or just for tourists or even at all. For me Kris cutleries stuff cant compare to a nice antique, there stuff is pangit to me (I hate being so harsh I know they are good blades and all but when you can compare them to nicer ones that look good and cut good). It seems that antiques are the only things for sale other than KCs stuff, and Ive been having a hell of a time finding them.
Originally posted by bayani:
Dude, go snag a "Kris Cutlery" catalogue...I don't know if they have a presence on the Web, but good luck!
Click to expand...

 
Federico,

I don't know if this will interest you, but hop over to the "Makers/Mfgrs." section and scroll down to the Himalayan Imports forum. A bunch of guys there are trying to get HI to make some Barongs using a real Barong as the model. There's a thread going over there about the project.

HI specializes in hand forged Khukuris (from high carbon steel) that are top quality, but they do a lot of special projects (like a katana, bowie knife, the barong) too. Obviously, it's not an antique, but you can bet that any barong they make will be one tough blade.

HTH.

Dave.
 
Get Kris Cutlery's Sandata catalog. They offer antique swords in it. Most of the kris swords are Indonesian, but they also sell antique Filipino weapons.
 
Hmmm this is partly a question concerning whether the making of these weapons is still done. Im not as concerned in finding them as I am in seeing if they are still being made (if they are still being made I will find them even if it means going to mindanao personally and looking but if they arent it be nice to find out now and not pay the money for a ticket). As far as searching for stuff to purchase I am looking for stuff along the lines of ethnographic items rather than practice items for any kind of FMA. In other words Im looking at this more from a collection of ethnographic items standpoint rather than a search for martial arts/functional tools. Though I guess a real item would be functional and suited for that, but also a real item would have a sense of tradition and culture behind it. Hmmm I guess its hard to explain and perhaps just my own strange idiosynchracy that wants a muslim weapon made by a muslim. I am collecting antique items, but I was just wondering if this artform has died out.
 
Federico, to answer you q it's a yes and no.
From the video I've seen, the Barong is like the kukri, an ancient tool still used and made. The kris is either still used and barely made or not made or used depending on who you talk to. The kampilan is pretty much gone, the panabas should still be made. Then again there is the tourist market...
smile.gif
 
Any idea about anyone who sells traditional barongs here besides Kris cutlery? Its always nice to have options when looking for stuff.
Originally posted by Smoke:
Federico, to answer you q it's a yes and no.
From the video I've seen, the Barong is like the kukri, an ancient tool still used and made. The kris is either still used and barely made or not made or used depending on who you talk to. The kampilan is pretty much gone, the panabas should still be made. Then again there is the tourist market...
smile.gif
Click to expand...

 
I do not know for a fact, but my guess is that traditional bladed weapons are most certainly still being made. I base that on the fact that my in-laws live on Luzon, and when we were visiting them last year, I went looking for a blacksmith. It took some scrounging around, but pretty soon I found a guy with a backyard smithy and about a dozen different blade styles to choose from. I had him make me a couple of different bolos, a heavy working blade and a liter, fancier fighting blade. The handles are the traditional carabao horn, the blades hammered out of bearings. If they are making traditional bolos on Luzon, they most certainly are making barongs and parangs on Mindanao, I would think.

Might have a hard time finding an export from the south islands right now though.
 
Hmmm I already know a guy in Davao that is looking for stuff for me, but when he finds good items and when I can afford them are two different things. Also its nice to know that his new items may be real. I have already gotten some of his stuff with no complaints from me, just wondering how traditional or old they might be. Some of it seems antique but some of it seems new so its hard to tell. Just been wondering if new necessarily means bad ie. new stuff is only tourist grade stuff. But Im always looking for more connections so if anyone knows of any please post.
 
The quality of steel and heat treat from a community blacksmith in the PI are not going to be in the same class as the knife craftsmen here in the US and elsewhere. The gentleman that made my blades was pounding them out of giant ball bearings using a hand pumped, coal fired forge. Edge quenched by guess and by golly, and tempered in the warm ashes of the forge. He came out with a blade that wouldn't take a set, or chip on the edge of his anvil though. I was very impressed.


It is bound to be better steel than they were using 100 years ago, but not custom heat treated, triple tempered, cryo-quenched S60V by a long shot.
 
For me as a collector of ethnographic items quality is not quite the standard Im looking for. Though quality is a major factor traditional manufacture plays a bigger role for me. Anyways just because its simply done doesnt necessarily make it bad. Of course it means that it is harder to get consistent results, but a good smith should get results that are around 99% good. HAHAA gueswork is in the eye of the beholder.
 
Federico,
Cecil at Kris Cutlery does sell traditional antique "Moro" blades once in a while. I have seen many of his antique blades for sale in person and they are trully awesome. Many of the blades have lamination line in them, ant the wood work is awesome. Even though they are antiques, they can still serve the roll as a defensive or offensive blade. There were several Barongs that I should of bought before. I'm still kicking myself in the @#$ !
 
Yeah Ive heard about cecil before. I am actually waiting for a catalog. Im just trying to see what my options are for buying stuff here in the US, and possibly in PI (if I can get the money to head there again). Somedays it just seems these things are few and far between(this is when I have money), at others it seems theyre all over the place(and usually this is when I dont have money). Arghhh, itd be nice to find a steady supplier, but that would seem only possible for newly made stuff (though in a perfect world I guess antiques would be that easy tp buy).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top