Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ThePepperSkull · 19th July 2011, 04:07 AM

Thanks for the advice and kind words, kai.

The wood on this was different than other kris I have handled in that it was not maintained very well. It was expremely dry when it came to me and smelled different than typical Bunti hilts. It did not simply smell old to me, rather it smelt overly musty in addition to smelling older. I suspect its "thirst" is due to its lack of care/maintenance through the years.

In terms of th handle, I agree! I don't think anyone could argue about the dubiousness of its current construction. Definitely not traditional moro. The makeshift clamp (I would be wary of calling it a proper asang-asang since it has no similarity to a proper asang-asang aside from function) is thin sheet brass as opposed to a thick clamp. It is the same thickness as the brass ferrule on the handle.

I believe both the ferrule and clamp to be something of a hasty repair. It was most likely done after the katik had broken off and the original asang-asang was lost. Definitely not typical moro construction, but I suspect it may have been done (In haste) by a moro who had limited repair tools, seeing as there is a clamp of some sort (Now this is just conjecture on my part-- but I suspect that if it were repaired in haste by someone outside of moro culture, the blade would simply have been glued or epoxied to the handle, maybe pinned as well, as opposed to being epoxied/clamped). Albeit the current clamp is not the prettiest.

As far as the wood hilt is concerned, I believe that it's original to the piece. The tang at the opening of the hilt fits very nicely and there is no sign IMO of it being being too loose a fit (No 'empty' space between the tang and hilt opening for additional shimming to tighten the fit or for extra epoxy filler). There ARE however, cracks at the opening that extende to the areas of the hilt were the cracks are visible in the pictures. I suspect that these cracks formed later due to wood shrinkage like you mentioned.

The construction of complete similar pieces to this were far FAR different, with there being a proper asang-asang attatched to metal fittings on the hilt and bound to the hilt with metal wire. It's hard to explain, but I will post pictures to better articulate what I mean about what I believe its original construction looked like.

Here is a couple of complete kris handles with the kind of construction I believe my kris was originally made to look like before its damage and repair. Note the metal wire binding and the asang-asang being attatched to the brass fitting near the kakatua pommel via more metal wires:

19th July 2011, 04:07 AM	#16
ThePepperSkull Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 338	Thanks for the advice and kind words, kai. The wood on this was different than other kris I have handled in that it was not maintained very well. It was expremely dry when it came to me and smelled different than typical Bunti hilts. It did not simply smell old to me, rather it smelt overly musty in addition to smelling older. I suspect its "thirst" is due to its lack of care/maintenance through the years. In terms of th handle, I agree! I don't think anyone could argue about the dubiousness of its current construction. Definitely not traditional moro. The makeshift clamp (I would be wary of calling it a proper asang-asang since it has no similarity to a proper asang-asang aside from function) is thin sheet brass as opposed to a thick clamp. It is the same thickness as the brass ferrule on the handle. I believe both the ferrule and clamp to be something of a hasty repair. It was most likely done after the katik had broken off and the original asang-asang was lost. Definitely not typical moro construction, but I suspect it may have been done (In haste) by a moro who had limited repair tools, seeing as there is a clamp of some sort (Now this is just conjecture on my part-- but I suspect that if it were repaired in haste by someone outside of moro culture, the blade would simply have been glued or epoxied to the handle, maybe pinned as well, as opposed to being epoxied/clamped). Albeit the current clamp is not the prettiest. As far as the wood hilt is concerned, I believe that it's original to the piece. The tang at the opening of the hilt fits very nicely and there is no sign IMO of it being being too loose a fit (No 'empty' space between the tang and hilt opening for additional shimming to tighten the fit or for extra epoxy filler). There ARE however, cracks at the opening that extende to the areas of the hilt were the cracks are visible in the pictures. I suspect that these cracks formed later due to wood shrinkage like you mentioned. The construction of complete similar pieces to this were far FAR different, with there being a proper asang-asang attatched to metal fittings on the hilt and bound to the hilt with metal wire. It's hard to explain, but I will post pictures to better articulate what I mean about what I believe its original construction looked like. Here is a couple of complete kris handles with the kind of construction I believe my kris was originally made to look like before its damage and repair. Note the metal wire binding and the asang-asang being attatched to the brass fitting near the kakatua pommel via more metal wires: Attached Images Last edited by ThePepperSkull; 19th July 2011 at 09:03 AM.