Filipino Swords
Ginunting
As a practitioner of Filipino Martial Arts, a great sword is a necessity. I’ve been meaning to post a review of a Ginunting I purchased a while back, and am finally getting to it now. I bought my Ginunting from Ron Kosakowski’s Traditional Filipino Weapons. I’ve bought plenty swords over the years, probably 20 or more. I bought a samurai sword in Japan from the 1800′s, a Laotian soldiers sword in Laos from the early 1900′s, several Iban head hunting swords on the island of Borneo, a Filipino Pinute, etc., etc. Of all the swords I own, if I had to take one into a sword fight it would be my Ginunting from Ron’s store. (By the way, I do not know Ron and am not profiting in any way from writing this review…and of course I will hopefully never be in a sword fight!) Here is a comparison of the similarly priced Pinute from another company, and my Ginunting from TFW:
Pinute and Ginunting
You probably can’t tell much of a difference from the above photo, other than noticing the cheap scabbard that comes with the Pinute (top). But take a look at a close up of the blades…from the back:
Blades
The Ginunting is on the left. As you can probably see, the steel is twice as thick and a much higher quality on the Ginunting. Here’s a close up of the scabbards and handles:
Scabbard and Handles
The handle on the Pinute isn’t all that bad, but the scabbard is such junk that it falls right out. The Ginunting fits perfectly in the scabbard. It’s snug, and definitely won’t fall out. It handles like no other sword…amazing. So if you’re looking for an excellent quality Filipino sword, order it from Traditional Filipino Weapons. I’ll be ordering a couple more styles in the near future…
14 Comments
Really a fine review. Glad you appreciate our work over at TFW. I am the webmaster, designer, and photographer for these works of art. Hope you review some other models in the future. Be well!
Thanks Dave. I’m happy to. The swords really are top notch. I’m not in the US now…or for a while…but when I return I’ve got my eye on two more!
hello Dave,
thank you for the review. may we know the specifics of why you’d choose the Ginunting to bring to a fight compared to other sword types? I’m gonna check out Dave’s in a bit
cheers,
Oliver
If any reader is wondering, the pinuti is from the Cas Iberia line of Phillippines swords. made in Cebu out of L6 tool steel. It’s usually a really good steel to work with, but for some reason the swords from this line came out waaaay too thin and ended up being too whippy to be useful as actual weapons or even working blades.
The TFW is definitely the better choice.
@Oliver: It’s a combination of things, from the thickness of the blade to the weight, length, handle, curve, and style. The blade is thick, solid, and heavy, but not TOO heavy. It’s long, but not too long…perfect length for me. The balance is terrific. The forward curve of the blade is such that it really cuts into what ever you slash. I like my other swords for different reasons, but this Ginunting has the perfect balance of all aspects for me.
@Dee S.: That’s right. The Pinute was from Cas Iberia.
What’s the balance point on this sucker by the way?
Without a ruler handy, it looks to be about 4 inches from the top of he handle.
ah, that’s my ideal weight for a phillippine blade!. Very good to know since a lot of them are 5 to 6 inches from the top of the handle, which is fine in the beginning but gets tiring in the end and would be unrealistic to use.
How long is the back edge on yours?
It’s exactly one foot.
we have a collection of traditional weapon but mostly moro sword i have from old to new ones,im selling some of my collection.residence of zamboanga city philippines.please call me or txt me 09291995345 or email me at msicat18@yahoo.com thanks
Would you be willing to sell me this one?
I recently purchased a ginunting from TFW and they did a running change that included a shortening of the bask edge to only three inches. I’d much rather have one with a longer back edge. lemme know! Thanks!
No, I’m not going to sell mine. But I can say I might prefer the shorter back edge. It’s less likely to cut your opposite arm/shoulder when chambering.