Filipino Master Makes Legendary Blade from Literal Trash

in this episode I'm setting out to craft a blade of resilience and freedom from steel found in the depths of manila's largest slump hopefully we end up with a little bit of Filipino Heritage to take back [Music] home how long have you been making swords for 15 to 17 years like that it's a pretty impressive operation you have [Music] here and man do these guys make something beautiful and iconic or what my quest for a sword or a bolo starts out on the streets of Happy Land here at one of the many junk shops specialized in steel I'm buying a variety of cuts with the goal of having it reborn I'm setting off to meet up with a team of Master swordsmiths deep in the kangan countryside here pal and his sister Daisy have been keeping the tradition of Filipino sword making alive they run a small blacksmith's workshop and employ a team of Highly skilled swordsmiths and as soon as I arrive things kick into action the steel is cut to size hammered into red hot in a cal Forge and hammered flat but these guys are a pretty serious operation the quality of the Weaponry that they're turning out is pretty incredible they are Master blacks here that have been doing this their entire lives this team of B makers transforms scrap steel from junkyards all across the Philippines into everything from everyday tools to iconic blades and today I've asked them to make me something similar to Andress bonifacio's iconic bolo he I wonder how this order is going to turn out well before colonization the indigenous communities of the Philippines were already proficient in the art of crafting weapons and tools essential for their survival and combat the diverse tribal need needs and distinct cultures across the archipelago led to the development of a vast array of unique Regional Styles later the introduction of advanced Chinese metalogy and Spanish blade designs bought new techniques and materials to the Forefront Filipino artisans in their skill and Ingenuity seamlessly integrated these new elements with their ageold traditional methods this Fusion has resulted in one of the richest and most diverse sword making heritages on the planet from the Cris with its distinctive wavy blade deeply embedded with Morrow culture to the bong a leaf-shaped sword favored by the tuang yakan and samal warriors to the kapan a wide tipped Long Blade to the Genting integral to Filipino martial arts the Philippines has a rich diversity of Swords however the bolo holds a special place due to its historical significance this versatile tool was used both in agriculture and in comp it became a symbol of national resistance during the Filipino Revolution under Andres basio the bolo was a practical choice for combat accessible to the common people who formed the backbone of the Katipunan movement the bolo's transformation from a humble agricultural tool to a symbol of national resilience and Liberation is precisely the type of cheesy symbolism that resonates with me therefore today we're crafting a bolo the crafting of our bolo begins with the steel being roughly cut to shape an initial step that forms the foundation of the sword this rough shape is then brought to life in the Forge where intense heat and hammering flatten and refine the steel I'm told that part of this process is to remove some of the bend that was in the metal they just have this motorized blower and that thing is hot next the grindstone plays a critical role meticulously honing the blade to distinctive form this is followed by a methodical sanding process slowly transitioning from course to finer and finer grits there are four or five sanding stations here in the workshop that's basically from what I understand how it is cut all the way down to some size they going to file a little bit tall and then they're going to keep shaving in with the Sandpaper that's all you can hear in the background if you can even hear me at all sanding sanding and more sanding layer after layer after layer until we get something that almost exactly resembles the template or the desired out would have thought this Smooths and perfects the blade surface while all this is going on the crafting of the handle begins with the careful selection of buffalo horn the big advantage of buffalo horn over wood is that no matter what you're going to do to it it's not going to rot it's going to stand up to time a little bit better apparently so we're going with a buffalo horn handle today the horn is precisely cut and gradually shaped tailored to ensure a comfortable and secure fit with the blade the final steps in the Blade's creation include sharpen turning it to a fine fine Edge and extensive polishing this showcases the Blade's quality and [Applause] craftsmanship this detailed process refined over Generations reflects the Deep expertise of Filipino artisans in bringing to life a tool that is both practical and symbolic also in progress is the sheath which has been rendered down from wood two pieces of separate wood which has had the template stenciled into it and that they are then shaving away at very similar process with just a sanding disc and just slowly working that into shape so the blade is really starting to take shape now we just have a couple more final steps that is involving putting some pins through the handle so that it doesn't slip out polishing it up and getting that final level of sharpness we really need that final level of sharpness [Music] and after hours and hours in the making the bolo is finally ready for some action [Music] hey pal how you doing man dude I appreciate you showing me your sword Workshop it's a pretty impressive Rive operation you have here I appreciate it how many people do you have in your team now five and how many swords do you guys make every week it depends on the order 15 to 20 long sword for one week wow with the overtime but for the mid sword like a bolo Cilan like that they can make at least 10 to 15 and what's the most popular what are most customers ordering at this time for now it's very popular samurai samurai swords are really popular how long have you've been making swords for 15 to 17 years like that my father is some issues so you inherited this business I see and so how long did your father make swords for did he do it his whole life no he's doing it I think since he's 14 years old like 13 years old 13 14 years old yeah and then you took over the business and you're making swords now and was it always swords or was he making other things as well no different different like a dger like a Rambo like that it's always some kind of weapon mostly mostly the Philippines has a pretty rich history of Swords what is a typical Filipino BL po compan Tagalog like that why is it that the Philippines has such a long history of making and being interested in different kinds of sorts quality durability like that where are the are the majority of your customers some Philippines and international mostly International what type of metal do you use to make the sorts mostly we're using a lifa spring leaf spring from old cars just like you buy it from a junk shop yeah junk shop like that got but sometimes they we have a customer they like 304 stainless steel like that very hard metal takes a long time to make from St what kind of do you like the most for me those B easy to carry like that easy to carry useful mostly for every every days in the jungle in the farm jungle Farm like that right thanks man okay thank you appreciate it I get to know a little bit more about one of the blacksmiths who turned this Happy Land scrap into an iconic bolo Tony hello dude is this my sword can I have a look wow dude I've been waiting for this for quite some time jeez wow man you've really outdone yourself this is really cool how long have you been making swords for years so what kind of Swords did your father make Lord of the Rings Claymore man so it's sort of like all kinds of different crazy swords what's your favorite type of Sword to make Sam Sam why oh really are you proud of the swords that you make what do you think about the quality do you think the quality of the swords you guys make is high have you ever made other things as a blacksmith other than bles what's the thought process once you see the design thank you very much I absolutely love this sword it's a cool piece of Filipino history I'm happy to take home with me thank you thank you getting to visit these Workshop has been an enlightening experience for me showcasing the enduring art of Filipino bolo making I really believe that the Philippines with its vast cultural diversity and historical International influences offers one of the broadest ranges of traditional sword designs globally and unlike most sword making Traditions that have become Static or purely symbolic Filipino sword making is vibrant and evolving it's deeply integrated into martial arts like arnest escrima and CI and this ongoing evolution is both fascinating and a vital part of Filipino Heritage that's it for this one guys thank you very much for watching hopefully you enjoyed a little bit of that transformation all the way from Happy Land through to this final Filipino bolo like knife a little bit of history in there also thanks for watching stick around we have more Filipino episodes coming from tawi tawi way down in the South right after this one thanks for watching I we see you in the next video goodbye

Channel: Andrew Fraser

Views: 466,226

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Id: Z08lBNsVK_U

Length: 11min 26sec (686 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 31 2023