EBay pick-up

[henri]

Nice keris ... with a very similar hilt I have into my collection .

[Rick]

After seeing three of these hilts in this thread that have a kendit ring in almost exactly the same place I'm coming to the conclusion that it is a staining rather than natural .

[Sajen]

The possible pesi repair reminds me to a philippine kris in my possession.

BTW, you have done very well to buy this keris!

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

The possible pesi repair reminds me to a philippine kris in my possession.
BTW, you have done very well to buy this keris!

Yes Detlef, i have seen this type of repair on Moro kris before. I am intrigued by Alan's suggestion that this might be an alternative original method. It does appear to be a pretty good match of metals for sure and it is done with such precision.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by David

Yes Detlef, i have seen this type of repair on Moro kris before. I am intrigued by Alan's suggestion that this might be an alternative original method. It does appear to be a pretty good match of metals for sure and it is done with such precision.

Yes, I agree as well!

[GIO]

This one once was mine (stolen from my home).
This is only to complete the range of this kind of hilts.

[GIO]

Please apologize. I forgot the pic

[David]

Originally Posted by Rick

After seeing three of these hilts in this thread that have a kendit ring in almost exactly the same place I'm coming to the conclusion that it is a staining rather than natural .

Well, i'm pretty certain that mine is natural having it in hand and Erik's looks pretty good as well, though his photos aren't so detailed. Not sure about Henri's, but my filling is that this style of hilt seems to be just for kendit wood. Does anyone have an example without the belt?

[Jean]

[QUOTE=David]Well, i'm pretty certain that mine is natural having it in hand and Erik's looks pretty good as well, though his photos aren't so detailed. Not sure about Henri's, but my filling is that this style of hilt seems to be just for kendit wood. Does anyone have an example without the belt? [/QUOTE

I attach the picture of 2 quite similar hilts (old but of more common quality) including one without the kendit band. If the band is artificial, it could be made by staining with China ink or equivalent (preferentially flowing to the rims as on 2 of the specimens shown ) or by poker-work (the piece from Henri). Would somebody dare testing it by scratching a small corner of the band or inspecting the peksi hole with a torch lamp to check the continuity inside? I will test the one on the right of the picture and will report the resuts if they are clear enough.
Regards

[David]

Thanks for these other examples Jean. At least now we know that the kendit wasn't a requirement for this hilt form. In answer to your question i would not be willing to scratch any part of my hilt to prove what i can already clearly determine with the hilt in hand. When i get a moment i might try taking a look up the pesi hole, but even it the mark does not continue on the inside it could still be genuine.The discoloration just might not run that deep. If it can't be determined by my photos i can tell you that i am pretty certain with the piece in hand that my hilt has a true kendit. :-)

[Jean]

I performed the scratch test on a small motif at the base of the hilt shown on the right of the picture and the black stain faded so it confirms that it was dyed.
On the other hand the kendit band on the warangka shown herebelow is genuine as it is clearly visible inside the slot (the wood is clean as it was slightly cut recently for fitting the blade).
Regards