New Keris Owner

BluErf · 21st May 2006, 06:40 AM

Hey Scattered,

Its a nice keris. It has a good sheath with nice pelet wood, a decent silver oversheath profusely repoussed with vegetation and animals. The hilt is of a good form, with well-carved patra. The mandak fits, and the blade looks late 19th century - mid 20th century. It has been recently re-washed, so it looks 'new'. You could have done a lot worse buying from some dealers elsewhere.

Anyway, your 1st keris is much better than my 1st keris, so appreciate and enjoy it!

There's always a 'better' keris of a 'cheaper' keris, just like there will always be a more beautiful person or a richer person. So how to we get settled down with that one special person who is neither the most beautiful, the smartest or the richest and still be happy? I guess its the same principle here.

At any rate, it does not need further cleaning. Do remember to oil it regularly, but remember to clean off all the oil you can before putting it back in the sheath; you don't want to end up staining the sheath with oil. Anyway, a keris blade cleaned with oil and blotted dry will stay rust-free longer than a blade with oil left on it. That tends to attract dust and the residual gunk when it dries promotes rust.

In short, you have a respectable keris.

Jeff - your keris may have a terrible sheath and hilt, but it has a beautiful blade. I think you might not have had such a bad deal. Just get it redressed in traditional sheath and hilt forms and you are going to have a very nice appropriate keris.

BluErf · 21st May 2006, 06:47 AM

Scattered,

One more thing - remember to use a bit of wood oil to nourish the hilt and the sheath once every couple of months. You don't want the wood to dry out and start to warp and crack. That would be a terrible shame!!

Jeff,

Corrections - your blade is not just beautiful - it's very graceful. Notice the sweet manner in which the luks meanders, the good spine on the blade which would have taken a long time to polish out of the billet, and nice arch to the ganja, the gracefully curling yet meaty kembang kacang (classical feature in good Balinese blades), and finally notice the way the sogokan follows the first luk.

Try to have a proper sheath and hilt commissioned for it; it deserves it.

nechesh · 21st May 2006, 02:56 PM

Hi Scatter. Now that we've had a better and closer look at this keris i just wanted to adjust my original guesstimate that i gave you over at Sword Forum so that you can see that most of us here are in general agreement. The closer view does indicate to me that this is an older blade then originally suspected and i think Blu puts it in the right time frame. And now that we can see the pamor better it no longer appears that it could be "golden rain" to me, though i am not certain exactly what pamor you have. I do not know if you have checked the blade for pamor nginden as Mr. Maisey has suggested. You could have done much worse for your first keris.

21st May 2006, 06:40 AM	#1
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Hey Scattered, Its a nice keris. It has a good sheath with nice pelet wood, a decent silver oversheath profusely repoussed with vegetation and animals. The hilt is of a good form, with well-carved patra. The mandak fits, and the blade looks late 19th century - mid 20th century. It has been recently re-washed, so it looks 'new'. You could have done a lot worse buying from some dealers elsewhere. Anyway, your 1st keris is much better than my 1st keris, so appreciate and enjoy it! There's always a 'better' keris of a 'cheaper' keris, just like there will always be a more beautiful person or a richer person. So how to we get settled down with that one special person who is neither the most beautiful, the smartest or the richest and still be happy? I guess its the same principle here. At any rate, it does not need further cleaning. Do remember to oil it regularly, but remember to clean off all the oil you can before putting it back in the sheath; you don't want to end up staining the sheath with oil. Anyway, a keris blade cleaned with oil and blotted dry will stay rust-free longer than a blade with oil left on it. That tends to attract dust and the residual gunk when it dries promotes rust. In short, you have a respectable keris. Jeff - your keris may have a terrible sheath and hilt, but it has a beautiful blade. I think you might not have had such a bad deal. Just get it redressed in traditional sheath and hilt forms and you are going to have a very nice appropriate keris.

21st May 2006, 06:47 AM	#2
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Scattered, One more thing - remember to use a bit of wood oil to nourish the hilt and the sheath once every couple of months. You don't want the wood to dry out and start to warp and crack. That would be a terrible shame!! Jeff, Corrections - your blade is not just beautiful - it's very graceful. Notice the sweet manner in which the luks meanders, the good spine on the blade which would have taken a long time to polish out of the billet, and nice arch to the ganja, the gracefully curling yet meaty kembang kacang (classical feature in good Balinese blades), and finally notice the way the sogokan follows the first luk. Try to have a proper sheath and hilt commissioned for it; it deserves it.

21st May 2006, 02:56 PM	#3
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Hi Scatter. Now that we've had a better and closer look at this keris i just wanted to adjust my original guesstimate that i gave you over at Sword Forum so that you can see that most of us here are in general agreement. The closer view does indicate to me that this is an older blade then originally suspected and i think Blu puts it in the right time frame. And now that we can see the pamor better it no longer appears that it could be "golden rain" to me, though i am not certain exactly what pamor you have. I do not know if you have checked the blade for pamor nginden as Mr. Maisey has suggested. You could have done much worse for your first keris.