Allure of the Core

[kai]

Hello Rick,

As for that blade, being the guy who can hold it; IMO it's contemporary to the dress .

I think your kris is turn of the century (or late 19th c.) and would think that the pommel is possibly original (maybe there never was a ferrule or it went missing). Seems like a datu working piece to me - clearly showing status but not too fancy to get in the way...

Obviously, the smith tried to obtain the typical twistcore pattern but the layers appear a bit blurred and distorted; not top-notch craftmanship but certainly better than what almost all of us would be able to accomplish with traditional bladesmith equipment!

Alan, why do you think the twists are laid on a plain core ?

I thought the edge was inserted .

It doesn't make sense to insert an edge for a double-edged blade and even most/many single-edged Indonesian blades seem to be made of 3 sandwiched layers (pamor/steel core/pamor): Usually you can make out the steel core for the edge along the spine, too.

I have yet to see a laminated Moro kris blade which hasn't been done in such a sandwich (San Mai) way; same-o with traditional keris blades (noting the more recent, non-functional exceptions without any steel core).

Regards,
Kai