Philippine Bolos

[Jelorian]

I was in the Philippines recently and brought back a few bolos. They were purchased in the province of Pangasinan, but honestly, could have come from any where. They are nothing special or ornate...just your typical bolo that a farmer would carry on his waist.

The handles are made of carabao (local water buffalo) horn. As far as the blades go, they are _probably_ typical of many bolos in the Philippines and are made of old truck leaf springs. The blades themselves are very thick and heavy. I would say 2-3mm at the spine.

They seem sharp and ready to go, but I'd still like to clean up the blades and polish them as well as clean up the handles.

I've seen some how to's and vids on how to sharpen, but not really knowing the metal, what would be the easiest way to start polishing the blades? Different grit sand paper till I get to the level of shine that I want?

What about the handle?

I understand that these are workhorses, but I have some extra time on my hands.

Pics when I get home from work, I promise!

 

[CWL]

You may as well use sanding papers to do the polish on the blades. I would recommend using wet/dry polishing papers and, depending on how rough the surface is (or if still blackened from the heat treat), I'd start around 320 and work my way up to 800 or 1000 grit (or higher) if you want that mirror polish look. Use a foam sanding block so that your sanding is even and flat -but also because you don't want to cut yourself if you slip.

Buffalo horn is harder to do, and while you can sand it by hand, most people do finish work on a buffing wheel using polishing compound. It is very easy to put deep scratches on it while you are sanding it.

 

[Jelorian]

You may as well use sanding papers to do the polish on the blades. I would recommend using wet/dry polishing papers and, depending on how rough the surface is (or if still blackened from the heat treat), I'd start around 320 and work my way up to 800 or 1000 grit (or higher) if you want that mirror polish look. Use a foam sanding block so that your sanding is even and flat -but also because you don't want to cut yourself if you slip.

Buffalo horn is harder to do, and while you can sand it by hand, most people do finish work on a buffing wheel using polishing compound. It is very easy to put deep scratches on it while you are sanding it.

CWL, thanks for the reply. I have a palm sander which I hope will make it easier or should I stick to hand sanding? The blades are definitely still blackened except for the sharp edge. I'm also thinking of picking up an inexpensive belt sander to put a better edge on them.

Thanks for the info on working the horn. I do have a Dremel with all the attachments so I hope that I can clean them up a bit.

I bought these at the public market and there were others that were using pieces of used tire treads as the grip material. They felt very nice and seemed that they would absorb a decent amount of impact from chopping. These are after all, heavy duty chopping tools.

Cheers!

 

[Jelorian]

As you can see from the pics they are very rough. I just want to clean them up a bit and make them look nicer

For sure the top one is a bolo, not sure if the bottom 2 have a different name


AA Battery for scale and to show the thickness of the blades at the spine


Carabao Horn handles

 

[JV3]

nice! the bottom two we call it golok. actually, only here in the states that i've heard the term bolo. it was either golok or machete but i grew up in the city when i lived in the philippines though so i'm not exactly an expert, haha.