Keris

[A. G. Maisey]

I agree wholeheartedly with David's comments.

In fact, I will go a little bit further.

I was trained and educated in keris belief, tradition and craft by a man who was the ranking empu in the Karaton Surakarta. I was under his instruction for about 15 years.

I also received advice and knowledge from a dear friend who was also an empu in the Karaton Surakarta and who was my friend for more than 40 years.

In the opinion of both these men, and of numerous other people in Jawa who are a part of the Javanese community, and whom I have known over a period that is now close to 50 years, to leave a keris in a state of neglect is not only disrespectful to the keris itself, but also to the maker, and to every other person who has had custody of the keris.

Any person who has a keris in his care has assumed the responsibility to in fact, care for that keris.

[Green]

GrozaB;

I am a relative newbiew in collecting keris myself and I value and regard Mr A G Maisey as our foremost keris expert in this forum and David is also certainly a very much more experienced collector than me, so I'd give a lot more weight to what they say than what my personal opinion is with regards to blade cleaning and other aspects of keris knowledge.

Having said that, I will say that I am a Malay from Malaysia and keris is in our tradition as much as Indonesians are. for the past several months I've paid more attention to keris and made several visits to keris makers in my area (Kelantan) and met some keris collectors here(malaysia).

when I showed some of my kerisses bought from western collectors with shiny over-cleaned blades , to be fair they did not say it is WRONG, but all have the opinion that the pamor and texture is destroyed by very agressive cleaning.

It is absolutely true that keris should be taken care off and cleaned regularly (once a year) but what is usually involved is cleaning it with immersing in coconut juice for a specific period of time ( 1 day? 1 week?) or rub the blade with lime/lemon juice and washed with soap and brush the rust with toothbrush and dry the keris thouroughly (in shade not under direct sunlight).

My point is, do take care when cleaning and I'd be interested to see your keris before and after the cleaning and restoration.

[GrozaB]

Ok, I understand that keris is not Japanese sword and don't have to be polished. But aggressive rust is my mortal enemy. So, I soak blade (after carefully removing handle) in kerosine/oil overnight. Tomorrow I will take toothbrush and will take care of rust. So patina, pamor and texture will stay. Just no more red rust.

[David]

Originally Posted by GrozaB

Ok, I understand that keris is not Japanese sword and don't have to be polished. But aggressive rust is my mortal enemy. So, I soak blade (after carefully removing handle) in kerosine/oil overnight. Tomorrow I will take toothbrush and will take care of rust. So patina, pamor and texture will stay. Just no more red rust.

Hi Groza. I just wanted to address this again since you seem to be asking questions here even if you did not use a question mark at the end of your sentences.
The pamor is part of the blade itself. You are not going to remove that with a toothbrush and some oil. I am not sure how you are using the word patina here. If you are referring to the contrasting colors of the blade that is created when the blade is treated with warangan, a combination of arsenic and lime juice. The arsenic reacts with the iron in the blade turning it dark in varying shades dependent upon the content of the various irons used. Nickelous material often used in pamor stays silvery. But this effect has nothing to due with patina. Removing the rust with oil and a toothbrush should not remove this effect nor should it change the texture of the surface. I do recommend that you do all you can to remove all the rust, not just the active red stuff. This will no doubt take time and repeated attention to the blade. You may find it necessary to pick at some of it with a fine needle under a magnifying glass to remove it all. Work slowly and carefully and this should not damage the blade any. What you have on this blade more than what i would call "patina" is dirt and rust. Removing that should increase the contrast of the pattern and make this blade seem more alive. Metal fittings should shine on a keris. I wouldn't get too aggressive with that, but the selut/cup at the base of your hilt may be silver and should be polished up a bit. Don't use anything abrasive of course, but a polishing cloth should help it along. And as i stated before, the same goes for the brass pendok on the sheath stem.

[A. G. Maisey]

Thanks for clarifying that Green.

Yes, some people who are not aware of keris culture do polish keris blades as if they were European weapons. They just don't understand.

Balinese keris are polished clean, rather than chemically cleaned, and I'm inclined to think Javanese keris in the distant past might have been cleaned in the same way.

[David]

It should also be noted, of course, that the tradition of keris care and maintenance is not the same in Malaysia as it is, say, in Jawa or Madura. This, being a Maduran keris, should most probably be maintained in the traditions of that area of Indonesia.
As Alan pointed out, it is the correct method in Bali to polish keris clean and stain them with warangan. This polished look may have one time been the tradition on Jawa as well, but what as developed there over time (and Madura as well) is the preference for the rough, topographical finish on the blade created by acid washing instead. Many Malay blades i see, on the other hand, don't use arsenic to darken the blade at all. Keris culture throughout Indonesia and the Peninsula is not a standardized block of traditions.

[Gustav]

It should be said here, that some very high quality pamorless malayan blades were polished and stained as well.