Philippine bolos

I paid $15-20 for each (even the big custom He said he'll charge more next time he does one that big though). The shipping is actually more than the knife. The handguard piece is actually carved from the same horn. The brass pieces are almost always loose but as they are just decorative it hasn't bothered me (easy to fix with a bit of glue). The tag actually goes all of the way through and is curved with the horn. I can be seen in the center of the brass cap on the tiger's head (or on my custom the horse's and thats actually the first horse head he ever carved). I have a few people over there watching for an albino horn to have one made with. They say you can see the tang through the handle on those.

That's amazingly cheap. I don't suppose you know of any good places to find these online? Or are they pretty much bought directly in the market?

Cool bolos Firehand10k
My Grandfather brought this back from WWII, I don't know if it is a bolo or something else.
22" O/A 17" blade the edge is a chisel ground.

Thats a nice one Razor. It is a bolo since that word covers any big knife but its a style I haven't seen before. I'll ask my wife if she knows a more specific name but I don't think that type is in her region. With the sharpened edge being straight it almsotlooks like a small kampilan dirivative. Very interesting carving on the handle too I'd like to find out what it is supposed to be. It almost looks like some kind of horn nosed snake.

Hey Razor that is a style of blade that they use in Bicol (my wife's province). Its very popular for cutting open coconuts and was probably made for that originally since if they make a fighting bolo they usually put on some kind of hand guard (like my minasbad).
They animal head carving is most likely based on the Javan Rhinoceros. Its one horned Asian rhino that has only about 60 living examples in the world. Those are in Vietnam and Indonesia but they used to be spread over a much larger region including Malasia and other islands in the area. Some Philippine myths mention them too, my wife told me, but she can't remember what they called them.
The handle does look like the water buffalo horn thats usually use so it should be good and strong for use. I think I see markings/etching on the blade. If it is can you get a better picutre of it? Sometimes that can be traced to a location or even a maker/family (alot of time the skill is passed down by the countryside bolo makers). Thats how I know that even though all of mine were done over about 6 years and bought from different sources they were all made by 2 brothers (they use the same mark with a slight difference in dimensions).
Its fun to look into.

Thank you Firehand10k and Joe for the info karma for both, sorry Joe but can not give you karma right now, but I will as soon has I can.

the handle is made of horn and I do remember someone also saying something about a mythical creature to. You're right Joe it has a good balance.

lemme guess; manila, right? word of warning though, hiead; i would bet my best sword that 99 percent of those swords displayed are recent made. of course, the vendor will tell you they're antiques. i can tell you this; you'll have better chance of finding antique filipino weapons here in the states (mostly thru g.i. bringback) than you would over there in the philippines. most of those are reproduced in tugaya, a town in lanao. tho it's made by indegenous tribes (maranao) they're still repros. if you're looking for antique stuff you better off finding one in our local gunshows.

i was actually hoping that there was at least a gunto in that antique shop but to no avail but i did like that "antique" sword holder

maybe try this site,

www.traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/