Sword on Emblem

[Doc D]

It seems what I have noticed ,at least with many Pekiti Groups ,is the Ginunting seems to have become the "signature weapon " of PTK. I am curious about the name and history of the sword on the PTI emblem as , in the past, it seems I used to see that blade on emblems a lot. I am no expert in Filipino blades , so I thought I'd ask.
With Respect,
Doc D

[TuhonBill]

It seems what I have noticed ,at least with many Pekiti Groups ,is the Ginunting seems to have become the "signature weapon " of PTK. I am curious about the name and history of the sword on the PTI emblem as , in the past, it seems I used to see that blade on emblems a lot. I am no expert in Filipino blades , so I thought I'd ask.
With Respect,
Doc D


The sword seen on the PTI logo is based on a description of a sword Tuhon Gaje said his grandfather Conrado designed. The idea was to give it an extra long choil so that it could be gripped above the guard for close quarter work (think bayonet or spear grip). I forget if Conrado's original had a bell guard (like on a cutlass) or if this was something Leo said he would like on it. Leo told me about the sword the early 80's, during one of our conversations about his grandfather and gave me the measurements, but he didn't have an example of the sword in his collection back then. When I put together the PTI logo in the early 90's, I did a rough sketch for the artist based on my memory of that conversation. The closest traditional sword I've seen is the Pinute:
http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Pinute.html

Here are the measurements as I remember them. I'll use my dimensions as a guide. At 6’1” tall, I use a 32” rattan training stick. Therefore, when I grip a stick, (with one hand-width left on the punyo end as a counterweight and striking area) I have about 24" of stick above my hand. The sword Leo described had a blade length of one cubit plus one hand. (Cubit = elbow to fingertip. Hand = wrist to fingertip). For me this is 19.5", plus 7.5"; for a total blade length of 27". The back cutting edge is one hand (7.5") in length. The front cutting edge begins about two palm widths up from the guard (8"). In addition to a bell guard to protect the right hand, there are two integral guards forged into the blade; one at the top of the choil to keep the left hand from sliding up onto the front cutting edge, and one at the back of the sword, to signal you when you are about to contact the back cutting edge. The top guard also serves to help prevent over-penetration on a thrust. These guards are shaped like those on this kampilan:
http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Kampilan.html

If you have 7” for the grip and pommel (the pommel being shorter on a one hand sword than on a stick) you will have an overall length of 32”.

Based on what I have learned over the years from swinging real swords, I would want two or three deep fullers (A.K.A. blood grooves) forged into blade to help reduce weight and improve the balance.

Because of its length, guards and fullers, I would think this would be a difficult sword to forge and get the tempering right. Maybe quenching in a constant temperature salt pot could get this right, but a oil quench would be iffy.

I added a two hand grip on this design when I wanted a sword to use in my fantasy novels Asulon and Eretzel:
http://www.amazon.com/ASULON-William-R-McGrath/dp/0980105803
http://www.amazon.com/ERETZEL-WILLIAM-RAYMOND-MCGRATH/dp/0980105811

The other sword Leo talked about was a short sword his grandfather carried. I think of it as "Conrado’s House Bolo”. It resembled a machete with the tip cut off and that face sharpened. It was shaped a bit like a single edge version of this war golok: http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/WarGolok.html

The broad front edge may have looked something like the large razel shown here: http://www.grahamknives.com/09_RAZELFBGRP.jpg

You can see a version of this sword in older pics of Tuhon Gaje (enter Tuhon Leo Gaje into Google images and it is the one in which Leo is wearing the red jacket over a black jump suit and holding a short and wide sword). There were a few variations of this sword made for Leo in 1982 by Angel Swords: http://www.angelsword.com/ . They sent a bunch of them to the 1982 summer camp and they sold out quickly (they were made in Mexico back then and sold for about $100). I think Leo picked the one in his photo because it was the most dramatic looking for photographs, but I recall it was very heavy and the balance was not as good as the sword he described his grandfather as having. The way he described Conrado’s sword was like a very well balanced machete with the “sweet spot” (point of percussion) very close to the tip. I would think that this sword would be fairly easy to make. You could even take a 22” Ontario machete and grind the tip down and make a passable short sword: http://www.knivesplus.com/ontario-machete-qn-ct5.html

Actually, I think I am going to try that. I’ll bring it to the PTI summer camp and see how it moves. If any of you want to try this, take my advice and remove the Ontario handle slabs and make your own. The plastic ones on the Ontario machete do not take vibration very well and will shake loose if you use it for hard impact (like practicing your cuts on wood posts).


Regards.
Tuhon Bill McGrath

[Doc D]

Thank you for the info ! I have a copy of that photo with Tuhon Gaje in the red jacket....it was a dramatic and intimidating blade. I did not realize Angel Sword made it ( they are still quite active here in Texas and can be found at most Rennaissaince Faires). I have a friend who is a bladesmith. He trained under Wayne Goddard. He might be interested in a go at forging such a blade with the specs you noted above.
With Respect
Doc