Filipino Bolo Knives

Filipino Bolos

Hi all, I'm new on this forum. I read a post here about old bolos from the Philippines. While in the Philippines I was exposed to more Bolos than one human should ever see! Just wanted to share them with you all here as it seems there is a fondness for big choppers here, hope you enjoy them!


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I just picked these up out here in the Philippines (where I still am). I contributed photos of their country for their gallery section and I got these from them. Finally, a site that offers them shipped to the rest of the world.

http://filipinobolos.com/index.html

These are the ones I own. The handles are interesting and come in plastic, rattan wrapped, and carabao horn. Interesting convex grind and sort of a chisel grind where it is flatter on one side. Last year when I reviewed Filipino Bolos for Tactical Knives magazine I noticed the Vasayan Bolos had this chisel grind too.



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Sorry for the late reply. I am still here in the Philippines, but about to fly out in a few days. Last year I was here for a while and got to travel around while doing a story for a magazine called Tactical Knives. I learned a lot about bolos and continue to. A bolo is definitely characterized by a long blade with a weight forward design usually with a deep belly, hand forged from a leaf spring (5160 steel).

After that visit, I went to Thailand and Malaysia to do further collecting and writing about their blades. There is a fine line between a Bolo from the Philippines, E-Nep from Thailand, Parang from Malaysia, and a Golok from Indonesia. Without getting too technical and serious, I will just say they all have their purpose and reasons why they use what they use based on their heritage, traditions, and influence that has entered their countries thousands of years ago.

-RB

Sorry, if I didn't answer all the questions, not really sure how to multi-quote here yet!

-RB

This will stir you all up. Check out the knife second from the bottom. It's a Thai E Nep, but I would say, "that looks like a kukuri!"

-RB

Smokey Joe said:

Bear the Dog: Forgive me as an uninformed novice, but I have to repeat my question: Exactly what is it that makes a particular knife a bolo?? Or, if you wish, what disqualifies a knife from that designation?

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My answer was meant for you, but I didn’t know how to directly quote you while answering. A bolo is definitely characterized by a long blade with a weight forward design, usually with a deep belly or recurve. They are hand forged from a leaf spring (5160 steel). The Filipinos call them bolos or “Itak” in Tagalog. Here is where it gets confusing, any long blade they make they call a bolo. There are specific names for certain shapes and then when you go to a different region, there are different names for the same blade design. Bottom line, if they make it in the Philippines and it is a long bladed chopping knife, it’s a bolo, even if it looks like an Indonesian Golok, Thai, E-nep, or Nepalese Kuk! This is something I’ve accepted despite the straight bladed choppers I have seen here that look like machetes, or the square tipped Golok looking knives. In the Visayas region they have bolos that I swear are almost exactly like Parangs! All this thinking about it made me ask so many questions and eventually come to a happy place of acceptance.

Here are a few various models of Bolos that resemble other knives from other cultures.


Bottom bolo looks like a Malaysian Parang


All from the Ifugao Mountain province in northern Luzon. The top resembles a Golok

This looks like an Indonesian Golok, straighter blade with a flat tip.


This bolo looks like the Cold Steels kukri machete shape, I know, not a real kuk.

As you can see influence from one culture is present in others.

-RB

J-
Thanks.

Tom-
Nice one, looks like a bowie bolo. Carabao horn is really comfortable, looks like it came from Pangasinan.

Smokey-
Glad it could help. Jeep (Jeepney) springs left over from the war is what they use here in the Philippines. In Thailand and Malaysia they use their version of, like you said, "OTS" or "OCS" (Old Truck Spring or Old Chevy Spring). I will post pics of them when they are raw.

-RB