A kalis (Baybayin: or ; Jawi script: كاليس ;Abecedario: cáli, cális) is a type of double-edged Philippine 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 and has a straight or slightly curved hilt, making it primarily a heavy slashing weapon (in contrast to the stabbing pistol grip of the keris). The wavy portion of the kalis is said to be meant to facilitate easier slashing in battle - since a straight edge tends to get stuck in the opponent's bones, the wavy portion allows the kalis' bearer to more easily pull the weapon out of his opponent's body. This weapon was featured in the American bladesmithing competition, Forged in Fire (TV series)'s season 1 episode 8. History The predecessor of the kalis, the keris, first appeared in the 13th century, originally from the island of Java in Indonesia. From there the keris migrated to the Philippines where it evolved into the kalis. Other countries in which the keris and keris-like weapons can be found include Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand and some other countries in Mainland Southeast Asia. Both the sword and dagger versions were used in the Philippines, with the dagger version being known as the gunong (also called punyal, from , "kris dagger"). Unlike the keris, the gunong is more commonly used as a utility knife and only used as a weapon as a last resort. It was a concealed knife, usually tucked into sashes by both men and women. Because of this, it was commonly unornamented or only sparsely ornamented. Its blade can also be single or double-edged. Similar to the kalis, its blade varies from straight, to partially wavy, to fully wavy. Some versions have very short, almost triangular blades. Older versions of the gunong have straight or a slightly curving hilt, but it eventually evolved into a pistol grip. All the Filipino types of kalis swords are both larger and heavier than those from Indonesia. Although it is considered to be a slashing weapon, the kalis can be effectively used for thrusts and stabs. The larger kalis was introduced back to Indonesia, especially in