Requesting Help!! Identifying the specifics of a Kris

[asomotif]

Originally Posted by David

If this were mine i would probably replace the flattened mendak (metal hilt ring) with a new bit of jewelry.

Maybe someone used to working with silver can put the mendak back in shape

[David]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Maybe someone used to working with silver can put the mendak back in shape

That doesn't really make too much sense to me unless it was a particular rare form. Mendaks of good material and construction are relatively cheap to acquire through regular dealers or on eBay. You would probably have to pay a silversmith more to repair this than it is worth.

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by David

That doesn't really make too much sense to me unless it was a particular rare form. Mendaks of good material and construction are relatively cheap to acquire through regular dealers or on eBay. You would probably have to pay a silversmith more to repair this than it is worth.

I can't see the damage. I have seen ones that seemed to have been crushed by impacts. If replacement is necessary then maybe an attempt to tap out the damage would be in order as there is nothing to lose

Has this blade been cleaned to the point it is hard to guess dapor? I was playing around with Tammens and could find a suitable match, but that is a condensed list if I am not mistaken.

[A. G. Maisey]

If this blade had been made in Surakarta style we could give it as dhapur Bandhotan. Since it is not Surakarta style it misses out on some of the characteristics that we expect to see in a Surakarta keris, but it is still probably close enough to use bandhotan.

[David]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

I can't see the damage. I have seen ones that seemed to have been crushed by impacts. If replacement is necessary then maybe an attempt to tap out the damage would be in order as there is nothing to lose

Has this blade been cleaned to the point it is hard to guess dapor? I was playing around with Tammens and could find a suitable match, but that is a condensed list if I am not mistaken.

You can't see the damage? Looks pretty crushed to my eyes. I am also fairly certain there is material lose. Some of the little silver balls around the edge appear to be missing. I suppose one could take time and effort to try to pop it back up and maybe, if you had the skills, solder some new silver balls in place. But i'm not convinced you would ever be able to make it look like it hadn't been damaged.
Also, from my perspective, bringing a new keris into the family is sort of like getting a new girl friend. If you like her enough you might want to buy her a new piece of jewelry. Again, there is nothing in this particular mendak that i see that makes it special enough to warrant saving. I have bought sterling silver ones with stone inclusions for $25USD and you can find fairly attractive cheaper ones as well. I just don't see why it would be worth the effort to try to restore this one unless you just really want the challenge and are open to the strong possibility of an unsatisfactory result.

[Interested Party]

David, it might be crushed but with the angle of the photo I can't be sure. My eye for evaluation is still developing. As far as repair goes, I guess I tend to fix things, even things that aren't worth fixing. My friends actually make fun of me for the habit and the time I lose, but sometimes the results can't be duplicated by something new. Most of the silver mendaks I've seen online seem to be in Bali's style.

[David]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

David, it might be crushed but with the angle of the photo I can't be sure. My eye for evaluation is still developing. As far as repair goes, I guess I tend to fix things, even things that aren't worth fixing. My friends actually make fun of me for the habit and the time I lose, but sometimes the results can't be duplicated by something new. Most of the silver mendaks I've seen online seem to be in Bali's style.

I certainly understand the joy that restoring things brings to many people. Don't let your friends make fun of you for things that bring you joy.
I won't provide any links to mendaks for sale online because that would break our rules, but if you just google "mendak keris" you will no doubt find many opinions for Javanese mendaks. I can be fairly certain the mendak on this keris has indeed been crushed flat because Javanese and Madurese mendaks have more width to them than what i can see. I cannot be sure of the exact style this mendak is, as there are many variations, but this mendak probably looked something like the one i have posted below.
Bali keris rings are called uwer (or wewer) btw, though sometimes they are misidentified as "mendak".
But my point here goes even a bit beyond whether or not you can restore this mendak (though i seriously doubt you could get a very good result), but more the idea that giving the blade a new mendak could be seen as something of a gift to MM's newly acquired keris, an honouring to the spirit of the keris and an acknowledgement of new ownership. Keris dress is often changed when a keris changes hands. It's just a matter of a different perspective i guess.
Of course, if you are up for the challenge you could always exchange info with MM and he could send you this mendak so you can see what you can do with it. I'd love to see you be successful with such a project in spite of my doubts.

[asomotif]

Hello David,

This new mendak looks "die casted". Is that correct ?
Not much of a gift to a very old an genuine keris as presented in this thread.
I really prefer old mendak, as they are indeed like a jewel, a gift to the keris.

Ps, I like this thread about mendak :
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=madura+mendak