All of the details in a keris are carved into it, not forged into it.
Iron & steel are actually pretty soft after they have been annealed, & not at all difficult to carve with the correct traditional hand tools. These days most makers use electric tools for the carving, but you can still carve pretty quickly just using the traditional tools.
The picture is a keris forging as it has come from the forge. This is what we start with.
Yes, the naga here does have a crown, that's one of the things that makes him a Naga Sasra.
As for learning, well, there is no end to that. I've been studying the keris for over 70 years & I've only scratched the surface of what there is to learn.
There are many aspects to the keris, & study of it must go hand in hand with the study of the related culture & society.
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