SpanAm War Soldiers Souvenirs-Kriis (Keris) & Pistol Moro ???

Here's a couple pieces I picked years ago at a local flea market.They were sold together and the fellow I bought them from said he 'was told' they were brought home by a Span Am Veteran of the Philippine 'Insurrection'. Any expertise or opinion you might have re the origin of the sword and pistol would be mighty welcome,all feedback welcome.PS-No Sheath w/ Sword.-Thanks

 

I've seen enough from @Any Jewelry to know the knife is a Keris. They're not made in the Philippines as far as I know, but it could have been traded in from Indonesia or Malaysia easily enough. The pistol is made to look like a cap and ball gun but I have no clue if it's legit, or from where, or a repro.

 

Evelyb30-Thanks for your feedback-yep you're right,the Keris originated in Java/Indonesia,then apparently was copied by other countries.
I found this post on the International Military Antiques Website,for sale- 'Original 19th Century Spanish American War Moro Tribe Revolutionary Sword of the 1899 Insurrection. Original Item: One-of-a-kind. A US GI bring back, purchased from a Veteran’s family, this is the traditional style sword carried by the Moro tribes of the Southern Philippine provinces of Mindenao Jolo and the Sulu Archipelago'.
'This overgrown Kris style sword has both straight and traditional wavy blade. The hilt is wire bound with silver plated copper mounts. Measuring 27" in overall length with a 21" blade this variation of the Kris sword is exclusive to the Mindenao region'.
'Most likely dating from 1870 an exact date of manufacture is impossible to determine'.
That's probably why this Keris is partially wavy,with the last front section being straight.The gun is definitely old and missing some parts-front barrel strap,ramrod,trigger lock.It's got a 3/4" barrel-maybe the fighter was shooting rocks,it could be a tribal homemade job.
Thanks very much for your feedback-it inspired me to get off my rump and learn something.This is a great Forum.

 

Welcome. I'm no expert on any of the above. But I'm still trying to wrap my head around a 3/4 inch diameter barrel on a single-shot pistol. Maybe it was a modified round lead shot whatsit or something, made to fit the size he had a bullet mold for. You never know what some "bloke in a shed" will get it into his head to try.

 

Here's more I found on Wikipedia re my (Not) Keris-'A Kalis (Calis) is a type of double-edged Filipino sword, often with a "wavy" section. The Kalis has a double-edged blade, which is commonly straight from the tip but wavy near the handle. Kalis with fully straight or fully wavy blades also exist. It is similar to the Javanese Keris, but differs in that the Kalis is a sword, not a dagger. It is much larger than the Keris.This is all new to me-weird,I thought they were all considered a Keris/Kris/Kriis.

 

Apparently not. I tagged one of the people who knows a LOT more than I ever will.

 

I didn't know any of this before you were kind enough to respond-and I've had this thing for 20 years.This Forum's got me Jazzed-plus I recently retired ! (lots of time on my hands).

 

C'mon IN...th' water's fine!

 

3/4 inch=75 caliber,nothing unusual about it.... https://simpsonltd.com/german-koklbenpistole-model-1843/

 

nice sword.....really nice !

the pistol looks modified to be a belt or boot side arm...

any marks on the barrel or hardware?

 

Friends-Thanks as always for contributing. The only marks (as I recall ) were on the barrel or maybe brass trigger mechanism ? It was either stamped with a 'T' or a '+' (cross). Been yrs since I've torn it apart and those screws are gettin' as crotchety as me. 3/4" Bore,7/8" outer dimension barrel.Prob something a tribesman cobbled together out of an old Spanish pistol.Yes-definitely the classic boot pistol iron clip on the side. 12 1/2" long,stock partly sawed off on side opposite of the belt clip.Who knows-maybe Blackbeard used to trim his beard with this thing-It's all a mystery Amigos,ride it !

 

Nice kris/kalis Moro. It has some age.
@evelyb30 was kind enough to tag me, but I only know about keris.

They're right, it is not a keris in the Javanese sense. My 'specialisation' is Javanese and Madurese keris from Indonesia, I know a bit about other Indonesian keris, and very little about non-Indonesian keris types.

The keris was introduced to the Philippines when it was part of the East-Javanese Majapahit empire (1293-ca 1500), but in the Philippines the purpose of the keris changed from spiritual/ceremonial/personality enhancing to an actual weapon.
The only things the two stil have in common is the waves on many keris etc, the stylised bird hilts many have, and the use as a status symbol.

I think @Firemandk and @J Dagger can tell you more.

 

Take ¾" from ⅞"...you'll get a barrel wall of only .0625"; 1/16".

That seems awfully thin, to me. Even in modern steel that doesn't feel adequate...and if it's as old as it appears, who knows what the material is?

Maybe that thing was more of a threat to the user than anyone on the business end of it!

 

Whittier-Let me get my dollar store 'readers' and ruler & i'll double check the thickness...yep 1/16",old steel w/a brownish tinge,shape is round halfway to the hammer then transitions into a pentagon 5 sided tube (or there could be 3 more sides hiding under the wood stock,in which case it's octagonal),back end of the barrel near the hammer could be thicker(?). But i know nada abt old guns-definitely missing 3 things : the brass band near front of barrel,ram rod & trigger guard,wear,grooves and screw holes indicate this.Wether it ever butplate,who knows ?

 

Your pistol is a Percussion Cap gun. The P.C. was introduced ~1820. Cap & Ball guns were made to discharge a bore-diameter solid ball.

Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, died 22 November 1718. He never had the security of a weatherproof firearm.

I note with glee the almost non-existent slots on the 2 screw heads shown on the left hand side of the pistol. Quite possibly those screws were at least partially hand made...and the wear obvious on them isn't so much from corrosion as from repeated usage over the years.

This is from The Georgetowner:
"The first record of a manufactured screw was in England in 1760. The patent outlined the use of a lathe and a set of metal-cutting tools, which were repeatedly run over the shank of the screw blank to cut threads, facilitating hand production. Many of these screws were flat bottomed, until it was realized that a pointed end worked better as a fastener.

Screws made from about 1812 through the mid-1800s were partially machine made, giving the threading a more even appearance. The introduction in 1848 of the completely machine-made gimlet screw, with a tapered shaft and a pointed tip, marked the beginning of the modern era in screw production.

For the first 10 years of production, machine-made screws were made with no slot in the head. Like those made earlier, the heads were still finished with hacksaws to add the groove to fit a screwdriver, so no two are exactly alike."

I do not mean to advocate removal of either of your screws in an attempt to date the pistol by their configuration...but if it were mine, it would be ver' tempting to do so.

Thanks for listening, folks!

 

Whitier- I gotta tell you,i think you've inspired me to take that pistol apart one more time & photograph it (will most assuredly post those pics !). It's a broken tarnished beauty-but i want to know more of it's story.Thanks so much for sharing yr knowledge,many of the old things that pop up on this forum have a tale to tell.
PS- Blackbeard did die in 1718...unless he made it to de Leon's Fountain of Youth (as referenced in that Johnny Depp pirate movie).