FORGED FILIPINO BOLOS

EXPLORING KNIFE STYLES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

- REUBEN BOLIEU

Several years ago, I got this bug in me to start hiking volcanoes around the world, but not the typical volcanoes found in Costa Rica or Hawaii that attract all the tourists.

I was looking for some more obscure and exotic locations, the kind that didn't have a gift shop or cheap T-shirts for sale. I got my chance to do some travel photography in the Mediterranean, where I would be able to visit Santorini, Greece, and Mount Vesuvius in Italy. I heard about another volcano on the other side of the globe. It was called Taal volcano in Tagaytay, Philippines. A few thousand miles and 30 mosquito bites later, I found myself staring into the sulfur crater of this mighty little volcano.

BOLO MACHETES

On this trip, I was first exposed to Filipino-style bolos. A bolo is the Filipino equivalent of the Latin American machete, except very different. Most production machetes in South America are mass-produced by stamping them out of huge sheets of soft carbon steel in a factory setting. Large chopping tools made in Southeast Asia are usually handmade using traditional forging techniques. Often these knives are made to be a little thinner than the typical machete and have much thicker stock. A bolo has a medium-long blade with a narrow hilt leading to a pronounced curve, broader towards the belly with a sharp point, although sometimes blunt at the tip.

PEOPLE OF THE KNIFE