Featured Keris , Keris, Keris................ Goose !!!

My 1st new blade in a long time..
Barter with an old Mi'kmaq friend..
His Keris for one NWC carving knife & one adze .
It came with a story about some official who gifted it in the 70's...blah blah.....
With all the recent talk about the Keris.....I fell for it .
It's in reasonable condition , but the inner wood sheath is is long gone....
I thought it may be something....now I'm thinking it's nice but average.....
So be it....it's wavy , less than razor sharp....... but it's mine !!!
And now for @Any Jewelry to tell me all about it....so I could learn new things......
It's 17 inches handle to tip.......

 

Hollywood Slasher Movie worthy!

 

more of a stabber , i'd venture !!

 

I was thinking it was saying "oil me".

 

The good news is, the mendak or hilt ring could be silver. Worth taking it off and giving it a polish. The style is classic Madurese.
When you put it back on, be sure to give the hilt a twist so it is facing the other way. The hilt is very nice quality.
This style sheath and hilt are of a style often associated with Java, but the style is also used on Madura, especially the west of the main island of Madura.

The pendok or metal oversheath is in one piece, no dents or breaks. It just needs a lot of elbow grease.
The gandar, or lower part of the wooden sheath, could just have been a rudimentary one, two pieces of wood front and back, so that can be replaced.
You won't be able to find the same wood as the ship, but can cover the replacement wood with a piece of nice textile. Make sure the replacement wood is slightly rounded to follow the curve of the pendok. Much used textile colours are plain green, red and black. No patterns. Like the one on the left:


Now for the bad news.
The blade has been mistreated by someone who clearly hates pamor.
This was once a very elegant, nicely made Madurese keris. The part where the curl is cut out, 'leans into' the centre of the blade, which is typical of Madurese keris.
The kind of pamor, or what is left of it, is very popular on Madura.
Before a pamor-hating criminal got to it, the pamor was Adeg. Adeg is a cleansing pamor, it is believed to protect against poisonous animals, epidemics, black magic and natural disasters. It is used a lot on Madura. Too bad it doesn't protect against the barbarian with the file or steel wool.
The number of waves is 9, which serves to increase the owners ambition and have a positive influence on his (her) career.
The rust is negligible, a drop of scented oil will take care of that. This keris will like jasmine oil. Preferably the Arabian 'Jasmine Sambac', which is related to the native Indonesian jasmine. You can use it on your other keris as well. It is considered respectful to work from the base to the tip.

There is a possibility the remaining pamor could be brought out by a ritual washing. The damage would still be there, but less visible.
I don't know if anyone in North America does it. It is a messy and toxic business, involving arsenic. There are some people here who do it, the last time I checked the price was 50 euros.

 

I guess I'll have to take the good with the bad !!
As always , your insight is most valued !

The handle is firm....how would one remove it with any certainty of getting it back in with a tight fit ?

 

@Any Jewelry

Had to look up pamor and it's basically acid/chemical etching to bring out the contrast of the iron and nickel layers. There are safer chemicals"ferric chloride" which could be done at home which could bring out the pamor.It is a fairly simple technique.... https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/in...chloride-how-tos/&tab=comments#comment-379785

 

Thanks, Holly. There could be some problems with that though, when it comes to Madurese and Javanese keris.
- Many Madurese and Javanese keris blades have a dry, gritty look. Not shiny like damascene blades, or like many Balinese keris. I don't know if the same look is achieved with ferric chloride.
- It is not traditional, so a no-no for spiritual keris, which Madurese and Javanese are. I certainly couldn't use it. Someone who just collects keris could, maybe.

This is what I mean by the dry, gritty look:


Versus a shiny Balinese keris:

 

Wrap enough ribbon or thread around the peksi (thorn) to get a tight grip. If you think you won't get the same fit again, just polish the mendak in situ.
Can you turn the hilt in the correct position?

 

yes...but it came away from the blade a little , and the squished mendak looks like it's no longer seated properly..

 

Maybe if you give the mendak a little twist as well? They are often squished because of the position of the hilt in relation to the ganja or cross-piece. If you twist it the same way as the hilt, that could work.

 

The ferric chloride does not leave the blade shiny,the non etched nickel is lightly sanded and the etched darkened steel/iron is usually left dark.

 

The lore of these is so complex & we are so lucky to have someone on board who can give us a bit of an initiation.

 

Poor thing was looking for love in all the wrong places, and finally found some here.