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  • Antique Knives & Collectibles   Knife Stories  

    If Knives Could Talk…Philippine Negrito Bolo

    By H. Clay Aalders September 15, 2019September 23, 2019
    Negrito Bolo

    One of my favorite aspects of this job is that I never know what might be passing through the office on any given day. Usually it is knives, but one day it was Bill Moran’s Stetson hat for some reason or another. I even had the chance to use an authentic British Fairbairn Sykes Dagger from WWII as a letter opener for a few days.

    While an individual knife might not be significant enough to find its way into the Knife Magazine print edition, there is almost always something interesting to share, and these digital pages are the perfect venue for this.

    Today’s knife is what is known as a “Negrito Bolo”, a traditional Filipino pattern which was cranked out in large numbers in the years following World War 2. The “Negrito” are one of many ethnic groups in the Philippines, named by the Spanish for their darker complexion than other groups.  Countless examples of these knives were sold to GIs and Sailors, and can now frequently be found at knife shows and in online auction sites.

    Bill and Debbie Wright describe these knives in their book Theater Made Military Knives of World War II:

    “Many knives were made in the Philippines following the end of WWII and were sold or given to GIs by local natives. They were made in many different sizes, shapes, and qualities. It has been reported that many of the blades were hand forged from Jeep leaf springs.  Many of the sheaths were wooden, and finely hand carved with designs of spread wing eagles, “U.S.” or “Victory”.

    This book is available for purchase from our online store .

    Theater Made Military Knives of World War II by Bill & Debbie Wright

    This particular bolo is on the rougher side of construction. Between examples from the Wright book, as well as examples from this excellent post on The Viking Sword, – a forum dedicated to ethnographic arms and armor, we can see where ours fits on the spectrum. Some of those examples are really nice, especially those with presentation engraving. Like many, ours makes reference to the Philippines, plus “Manila” and “1945”. As a side note, Negrito Bolos, Bowies, and related knives continued to be marketed to Servicemen and other tourists, up through the Vietnam era. The year of manufacture is frequently present in both early and later examples.

    One thing this one displays is the most elaborate, if amateurishly executed floral motif of any I have seen.

     

    continuing towards the tip…

    I mentioned this is on the lower end of the quality scale, as is evidenced by the file marks from when the knife was constructed. As knifemaker Will Woods likes to say, “at a certain price point all the lines have to be going in the same direction. You can clearly see the knife was finished after the handle and guard were added.

    Another noteworthy aspect to this knife is the damage to the horn (likely water buffalo) handle. It shows signs of burrowing by Dermestidae or Carpet Beetle larva. This is common on antique tortoise and horn items. Incidentally, if you own knives, razors, or other items with horn or shell components, storing them with naphtha moth balls is effective protection from this pest. You can read more about Dermestidae here.

    I can’t tell if the carving on the pommel is supposed to be a bear, a dog, or something else entirely, though all ranges of decorative patterns or animal shapes show up in Negrito bolos.

    If this knife could talk…

    I would like to ask who was its owner. Was it a sailor on port-call who bought it from a tourist vendor? Did a GI stationed in Manila during the postwar reconstruction exchange it for a handful of chocolate bars and a pack of smokes? Was it once proudly displayed on a shelf or tucked away in the attic? Did the owner ever show his grandkids and tell stories of his time serving in the Pacific? Did the person who decided to part with it know anything about the knife or its history? At what point did it suffer the beetle damage?

    Knives, even fairly mundane tourist trinkets such as this can be full of stories, many of which we will never know. But it is fun to contemplate as you turn the knife over in your hand.

    Finally, this youtube video shows several wonderful examples of Filipino bolos and related knives. There are a few errors in his narration, but the video is worth a watch if you are interested in the style.

     


    Please leave a comment if you liked, disliked, or were completely ambivalent about this post. I am going to be constantly looking out for content like this to share, and I thought that this was a good one to open the “If knives could talk” series. Not knife of particular significance, but full of stories for sure.

     

     

    10 Tags: Filipino Bolo, If knives could talk, Negrito Bolo, Philippine Negrito Bolo, Philippines, WWII bolo

    H. Clay Aalders

    H. Clay Aalders is a lifelong edged tool user. He spent the past 20 years as a woodworker and fishing guide in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Tennessee. While guiding in Idaho, Clay worked part-time writing for a local newspaper, and upon moving to Tennessee began writing for the blog The Truth About Knives - spending his last 5 years there as Managing Editor. His background is in fixed-blade hunting and bushcraft knives, but has jumped into the world of vintage slipjoint collecting with both feet since coming to work at Knife Magazine. Clay’s primary role is as Digital Editor, curating and creating new content for our website and blog, as well as maintaining the Knife Magazine social media accounts (FB/IG: @theknifemag, Twitter: @knifemagazine). He is also a contributor and Associate Editor of the print magazine.

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    10 Comments

    1. Reply
      cmeat
      September 20, 2019 8:22 am

      that thing looks mean. souveneirish to be sure, it should still be able to clear some brush or a gangway.

    2. Reply
      David McCarty
      September 23, 2019 9:39 pm

      I enjoyed the story

    3. Reply
      Cindy
      April 4, 2020 12:17 am

      Loved the story!! I have knifes from the PI! Brought them back, after MT. Pinatubo blew.

    4. Reply
      Debra Taylor
      July 3, 2020 7:40 pm

      My husband was a Cobra Gunship pilot in Vietnam and did his Jungle Survival training in the Philipines. He was trained by a group of Negritos and purchased one of these knives from them. It was a prised possesion of his that was passed to our youngest daughter upon my husband’s death last year. Many stories have been told about this knife and his time with the Negritos. And, yes, it is very sharp! It is truly a family treasure.

    5. Reply
      Paul Garcia
      November 4, 2020 2:36 pm

      I have one. Still interested to know more about the one I have. My dad was in the Navy during Vietnam. He brought it back with him to the states.

      • Reply
        H. Clay Aalders
        November 5, 2020 1:08 pm

        Send a couple of pictures, I love seeing the variety. clay (at) knifemagazine.com

    6. Reply
      Scott vest
      January 18, 2021 6:53 pm

      I have a knife that has Philippines negrito island on it found it about 35 years ago and would like to find out the value of it
      Thanks

      • Reply
        H. Clay Aalders
        January 19, 2021 11:46 pm

        $25-$45 unless there is something noteworthy about it. Email a picture or 3 to clay(at)knifemagazine.com and I can have a look.

    7. Reply
      vica jel amorio
      May 11, 2021 10:46 pm

      I have a bolo knife I want to ask f. there is a value?

    8. Reply
      James Oldham
      August 6, 2021 3:40 am

      As Marine I did some time cubic Bay Got the fine and pleasurable training in J.E.S.T. school Instructed by THE Negreto warriors, fearless and can live anywhere in the jungle.i am looking for a bolo from the P.I. walkingwarrior76@gmail.com

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