Strange Mendak on Yogyakarta Keris

[David]

Yes, it definitely looks better now. The pamor is more striking in this new photo. I like this keris.

[Johan van Zyl]

It does look much better.

Something I am noticing: the 13 waves are very well executed, in the sense that they are strongly curving. I don't recall that I have read anything yet about strongly curving versus weakly curving luks. Or I might just have missed it...

Are there any norms about the extent of the curvatures? Or might we just simply need to say the empu was very expert in executing the waves?

Johan

[Athanase]

Thank you everyone for your comment.
For the strong curves I can't comment because it is the only one of my Kriss with a blade like this one.

[A. G. Maisey]

The form of a wave (luk) is dependent upon the classification of the keris:- long, slow waves point towards one classification, short, deep waves point towards a different classification.

I've used the word "classification" as a substitute for "tangguh", it doesn't mean "tangguh", but it is a more objective way of thinking about a blade.

See:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/keristangguh.html

[David]

Originally Posted by Johan van Zyl

I don't recall that I have read anything yet about strongly curving versus weakly curving luks. Or I might just have missed it...

As Alan has pointed out, this is dependent upon the classification of the keris and while i would agree that this keris is well executed i would personally avoid using the terms "strong vs. weak" to describe this feature since that seems to imply a "good/bad" aspect to the feature being assessed. I might suggest "deep vs. shallow" or something like that since i would not say that deep luks are "better" than shallow luks or that the maker's skills are necessarily any better on this keris because of the deep luks than the skills of a smith who has created a shallow luk keris.

[A. G. Maisey]

If our interest has turned towards the level of skill of the person who made this keris, perhaps a detailed examination of the execution of the various characteristics of the keris might be useful.

For example, does anybody have any comments on the sogokan, greneng, kembang kacang?

[drdavid]

Hi Alan
I will be the fish on the hook here and all my comments are based on what I see in the photos. For me the sogokan is not well executed, the edges are wavy and there is poor symmetry, this is in contrast to the blumbangan. The greneng is not crisp but it is adequate. The kembang kacang is interesting, very elongated and less worn than the work under it, I wonder if it has been reshaped
cheers
DrD

[David]

Well, i believe i would like to see a much clearer and more detailed photos before i would set out to pick apart the garap of this particular blade. Certainly it is not a master work. Simply a nice and serviceable blade that i like the look of.
I am assuming this is not a contemporary blade and there is, no doubt, wear to all the ricikan of this blade, but frankly there is not a single photo presented here that would allow me to make an opinion on the greneng of this blade, worn or not. I do see the unevenness of the sogokan that Dr. D mentions, but again, there is no telling what this blade looked like when it was first produced.
What i will say again is that i like this blade and would gladly add it to my collection. I am much more concerned with the rust i presently see in the sogokan than whether i believe it was crafted by expert hands.

[Johan van Zyl]

Of course, the terms describing the depth/shallowness of the waves as "strong/weak" was poorly chosen. Yes, the tangguh classification needs to be taken into account. I noticed the relatively deep waves immediately, because the waves of my Bugis Riau keris are relatively shallow in comparison. Thanks, Alan & David.

Like David, I also would gladly add it to my collection!