[RobT]

Hi All,

My wife gave me this very nice 3 luk Bugis keris with its very well carved, ivory Java demam hilt and silver selut for my birthday. I have four questions about the sheath which appears to be fairly recent. I know that I will need to make a small modification to the throat in order for the blade to seat properly but the size of the wranka appears to be proportionate to the hilt.
1) Is the sheath (which appears to be Sulawesi) appropriate for a Sumatera hilt?
2) Even though the gandar is considerably longer than the blade, can I leave it as is?
3) If the gandar needs to be shortened, how short can I make it without it appearing too “stumpy”
4) I would like to replace the damaged buntut with something to match the hilt. Would camel bone be appropriate?. I have some ivory scraps that could work also but I would prefer to use bone.

Sincerely,
RobT