Does cleaning a keris hurt overall value or patina?

[David]

Originally Posted by Henk

Dave,

I think you should clean the dress of your keris so that the grey layer disappears. You certainly will not honour the maker and spirits by neglecting the house of the keris. If i come home i don't feel comfortable when the house is dirty with everwhere layers of dust. The spirits of the keris and the maker will think the same way.
Your grandfather? I don't know. If the dirt on the keris reminds you of your grandfather and i mean the fact that his hands touched that surface and you want to preserve that memory, fine.
But if you want to do justice to the keris, clean it!!

I do have to agree here. Dirt is not patina and cleaning the dirt from the dress will not destroy the patina, only enhance it.
Personally i would use some wood oil to clean it up and keep the wood from drying out. This will help preserve the dress and prevent further cracking. I also use a bit of Butcher's Wax as a protection for the surface afterwards. Gives the wood a nice low luster look as well.