Alan,
information, even empirically gathered, can save lifes.
You see a certain type Keris, and you know exactly what it is, because you have seen exactly this type of Keris in Pasar or even being worked on in Madura.
I see a Pedongkok on a Buginese Keris, and I can say with the same certainty, this Pedongkok is new, even if it tries to echo an older form.
The things I see in the Sundang from #11 may differ a little bit from things you see in it; the difference is information.
About Luk counting, I understand, that what a person says can differ with the people he is communicating with, the level of communication and so on, but the best perhaps would be to keep a certain amount of respect, the fraction of respect you demand for yourself in situations you repeat saying you are a pupil of an Empu.
There surely are situations were 2+2 must be 3 or 5, but in some other situations such procedure can result in a time in prison.
Gavin,
two publications about Keris, which always will stay actual and indispensable, are the book of Jasper&Mas Pirngadie and the series of articles by Huyser. Both were published in Dutch, and there is no oficial English translation of them I am aware of.
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