Comments on this keris Picit?

A. G. Maisey · 12th February 2022, 01:20 AM

This is an old blade, it is not likely that any actual impressions from finger print whorls would remain after a few acid cleanings, if any were present in the first place.

Lets say, just for the sake of the exercise that this blade is somewhere between 100 & 150 years old, and it is likely older than that, how many times has it been acid cleaned during that period of time? How many times has it been forgotten for a few years, rust has built up, and the subsequent cleaning has removed both rust and any light indentations.

Impossible to be certain from a photo, but to my eye, this blade presents as a very plain, very difficult to sell keris. Totally unsaleable on the local market in Jawa as a dress keris, and it would need a lot of "support" to find a buyer anywhere.

The way that layering is lifting in the mid portion of the blade seems to indicate that this blade has been subjected to high heat long after it was first produced. Possibly localised heat, something like an oxy torch.

12th February 2022, 01:20 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	This is an old blade, it is not likely that any actual impressions from finger print whorls would remain after a few acid cleanings, if any were present in the first place. Lets say, just for the sake of the exercise that this blade is somewhere between 100 & 150 years old, and it is likely older than that, how many times has it been acid cleaned during that period of time? How many times has it been forgotten for a few years, rust has built up, and the subsequent cleaning has removed both rust and any light indentations. Impossible to be certain from a photo, but to my eye, this blade presents as a very plain, very difficult to sell keris. Totally unsaleable on the local market in Jawa as a dress keris, and it would need a lot of "support" to find a buyer anywhere. The way that layering is lifting in the mid portion of the blade seems to indicate that this blade has been subjected to high heat long after it was first produced. Possibly localised heat, something like an oxy torch.