Just two stupid (?) questions ...
 

Hi all,

Maybe I ask something stupid, but I`m still an ignorant new keris collector:

1) Is the tang (pesi) forged from the same billet as the blade, or is it a
separate piece that is welded to the blade?

2) How is the ganja fixed to the base of the blade?


Thank you for your attention and best regards,

Heinz (Greybeard)

In most cases the tang is forged from the same billet that forms the body of the keris. However, I have seen several older keris that have had the tang inset into the body of the blade, and then forge welded. The way in which this was done would have been totally impossible as any kind of a later repair, thus it was original construction.With some current era keris , especially those with a very fancy pamor, you will find a small stub of a tang that is forged from the billet, and then a tang extention welded to that.

The ganja is a pressure fit, either by the cutting of a keyway into the hole that accepts the tang, and then the driving of a metal key into this slot, or by punching down the top of the ganja around the tang.

Many thanks for the explanation!

Heinz