Filipino wakizashi
length: 18 1/2"
Now here's something you don't see all of the time - a D-guard wakizashi. My
best estimate is that this was produced in the Philippines in the vicinity
of WWII. Unknown whether this was before or after the Japanese occupied the
islands and were very not nice to the native Filipinos. More likely after
the war, because the guard, tsuba, grip spacers, and scabbard fittings are aluminum - which was
much more prevalent on the islands post-war that it was pre-war. The blade
is 1/4" thick at the spine with distal taper down towards the point, so this
wasn't a cheap mass-produced tourist item for sale to gringo yankee sailors.
It's interesting that the blade is fullered out towards the tip instead of at
the base, but it makes for a really sweet balance and feel to the hand. The
grip is composite, of multiple hardwoods with aluminum spacers. A
superbly crafted and as far as I know unique piece.
blade: 13 3/4"
blade width: 1 1/8" base
grip: 4 3/4"
guard: 2 1/2" max
01/20/02