Well, this really may be a point of contention. The 1930 line is one drawn by Cato in his book Moro Sword, for bettter or for worse the only specific book on the subject to date. I believe we have seen exceptions to this rule and i believe we even had a recent thread on it showing some documented examples. I took a close look at Blu's kris and really can't tell from his photo whether or not a seperate gangya exists (this is the same piece that is usually called the gonjo or ganja in Indonesian keris). I have an example that is so well fitted that i didn't see the seperation line for years until i gave the blade a cleaning and etching. Even so you need to magnify the area to see it. It can be like that on really well made blades. So, it hard to tell if Blu's is seperate and that is why i asked about yours. Another method used to determine age is the shape of the luks (blade curves) which tend to get pointier as the blades get more modern. Yours appear a bit pointy (not very) in the photos you presented (compare with Blu's) so i would imagine that yours is a later variety. Others who make the Moro kris their main point of study may know better as to when and to what degree of pointiness the luks are in different periods. I have seen very pointy luks on very modern versions. Also materials can be a clue to age. That is why i asked you in the other thread if the bands on the sheath were aluminium. That generally points to around or post WW2. Of course they could also have been added at a later date. Hope that helps.
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25th June 2006, 05:21 PM
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