a Sengkelat worth of knowing to me

Jean · 10th June 2012, 08:52 AM

From the pictures I don't see any steel core and the gonjo seems to properly match with the blade both physically and colour-wise. In spite of the worn-out pamor and iron pitting, the ricikan look neat and sharp (kembang kacang, greneng, etc) so I would assess the blade as probably recent but other opinions are welcome.

Regards

asomotif · 10th June 2012, 10:24 AM

I like the worn out pamor.
And the pendok, Is it suassa ?

Best regards,
Willem

A. G. Maisey · 10th June 2012, 01:44 PM

Look very closely at the joint between the gonjo and the base of the blade, especially directly under the pesi, now look at the degree of erosion to the greneng.

Draw your own conclusions.

Moshah · 10th June 2012, 03:58 PM

I really couldn't tell if the pendok is really suassa...how to test it?

If the gonjo was a replacement, was it recently made?

Under my untrained eyes, the besi of the blade looks identical to the besi of the gonjo...

Rick · 10th June 2012, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Look very closely at the joint between the gonjo and the base of the blade, especially directly under the pesi, now look at the degree of erosion to the greneng.

Draw your own conclusions.

What I see is very little erosion to the greneng, and what looks like filler between the blade & gonjo .

dbhmgb · 10th June 2012, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

What I see is very little erosion to the greneng, and what looks like filler between the blade & gonjo .

That's what I see.

drdavid · 10th June 2012, 11:05 PM

The greneng seems very clean. The junction of the base of blade and gonjo seems to show quite a lot more erosion, particularly when you look at the 4th photo. I see either there is filler or something else has happened to remove the layering on the base of the blade. Not so easy to judge given the focus on the pictures but the erosion on the kembang kacang is more like that on the blade than that of the greneng
drd

A. G. Maisey · 11th June 2012, 12:49 AM

Since epoxy resins became available in Jawa they have been mixed with iron filings and used on keris to fill the gap between the blade base and the gonjo. This was being done long before the keris revival that took place in the mid-1970's and the prolific production that commenced during the late 1980's and continues until today.

There is nothing wrong with a filler between the gonjo and the blade base.

Its original use was to preserve old keris and to protect the blade base and gonjo from further erosion. With current era keris its use has a similar purpose, but where filler is used in a recent keris, it should be as thin as possible, it should not be used as substitute for a poor fit.

In this keris there is very little erosion to any of the ricikan, and especially not to the greneng, but the gap between the gonjo and the blade base is what we could expect to see in a very old keris that had been neglected. Since this is not an old keris, what we are looking at is sub-standard workmanship.

This is quite an acceptable keris for use with formal Javanese dress, and the wrongko does appear to be very nice. As a collectable? We all have our own likes and dislikes.

10th June 2012, 08:52 AM	#1
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	From the pictures I don't see any steel core and the gonjo seems to properly match with the blade both physically and colour-wise. In spite of the worn-out pamor and iron pitting, the ricikan look neat and sharp (kembang kacang, greneng, etc) so I would assess the blade as probably recent but other opinions are welcome. Regards

10th June 2012, 10:24 AM	#2
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,235	I like the worn out pamor. And the pendok, Is it suassa ? Best regards, Willem

10th June 2012, 01:44 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Look very closely at the joint between the gonjo and the base of the blade, especially directly under the pesi, now look at the degree of erosion to the greneng. Draw your own conclusions.

10th June 2012, 03:58 PM	#4
Moshah Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 171	I really couldn't tell if the pendok is really suassa...how to test it? If the gonjo was a replacement, was it recently made? Under my untrained eyes, the besi of the blade looks identical to the besi of the gonjo...

10th June 2012, 11:05 PM	#7
drdavid Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 372	The greneng seems very clean. The junction of the base of blade and gonjo seems to show quite a lot more erosion, particularly when you look at the 4th photo. I see either there is filler or something else has happened to remove the layering on the base of the blade. Not so easy to judge given the focus on the pictures but the erosion on the kembang kacang is more like that on the blade than that of the greneng drd

11th June 2012, 12:49 AM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Since epoxy resins became available in Jawa they have been mixed with iron filings and used on keris to fill the gap between the blade base and the gonjo. This was being done long before the keris revival that took place in the mid-1970's and the prolific production that commenced during the late 1980's and continues until today. There is nothing wrong with a filler between the gonjo and the blade base. Its original use was to preserve old keris and to protect the blade base and gonjo from further erosion. With current era keris its use has a similar purpose, but where filler is used in a recent keris, it should be as thin as possible, it should not be used as substitute for a poor fit. In this keris there is very little erosion to any of the ricikan, and especially not to the greneng, but the gap between the gonjo and the blade base is what we could expect to see in a very old keris that had been neglected. Since this is not an old keris, what we are looking at is sub-standard workmanship. This is quite an acceptable keris for use with formal Javanese dress, and the wrongko does appear to be very nice. As a collectable? We all have our own likes and dislikes.