Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Michel · 5th September 2007, 02:44 PM

Thank you Alan for all the information.
I have now been on your site, printed some of the pages and I am learning a lot.
I have also discovered that you give a glossary of Indonesian words related to keris which will be of great help at least until my dictionary arrives.
Your article "origin of the keris" gives a very convincing explanation about the keris evolution and change of Angle between the pesi and the blade.
I have a few problems to follow exactly your methodology for forging a keris, as I started making an exercise of heat welding that we transformed at a later stage into a blade and a blade not big enough to make a normal keris but only a patrem.
I than had to find a good example of a patrem. I found it on Alam Shah site where he had one nice patrem with not too many luk and a thin and elegant blade, but no way to establish the angle between the pesi and the blade and a very special kerdas hilt.
As you have seen on the photo, I do not have enough metal for the ganja and I will be iconoclastic again and forge it from a separate layered piece with no nickel. I will do my best to have this ganja as esthetically acceptable as possible. The example of Alam Shah, looks fine for me.
I will have some difficulties with the selection of the hilt and sheath shapes. My inclination would be to make a hilt Jogjakarta or Surakarta style with a sheath ladrang, but I may be completely heretical with such a combination.

I recognize that I do not tend towards perfection and excellence with that keris but as I do that for my pleasure, I hope it will not matter much and I will be pardon by you and the senior members of warung kopi !
Thank you so much for what you have explained and all the advices given.
Kind regards
Michel

5th September 2007, 02:44 PM	#5
Michel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Switzerland Posts: 139	Angle, forging, ganja Thank you Alan for all the information. I have now been on your site, printed some of the pages and I am learning a lot. I have also discovered that you give a glossary of Indonesian words related to keris which will be of great help at least until my dictionary arrives. Your article "origin of the keris" gives a very convincing explanation about the keris evolution and change of Angle between the pesi and the blade. I have a few problems to follow exactly your methodology for forging a keris, as I started making an exercise of heat welding that we transformed at a later stage into a blade and a blade not big enough to make a normal keris but only a patrem. I than had to find a good example of a patrem. I found it on Alam Shah site where he had one nice patrem with not too many luk and a thin and elegant blade, but no way to establish the angle between the pesi and the blade and a very special kerdas hilt. As you have seen on the photo, I do not have enough metal for the ganja and I will be iconoclastic again and forge it from a separate layered piece with no nickel. I will do my best to have this ganja as esthetically acceptable as possible. The example of Alam Shah, looks fine for me. I will have some difficulties with the selection of the hilt and sheath shapes. My inclination would be to make a hilt Jogjakarta or Surakarta style with a sheath ladrang, but I may be completely heretical with such a combination. I recognize that I do not tend towards perfection and excellence with that keris but as I do that for my pleasure, I hope it will not matter much and I will be pardon by you and the senior members of warung kopi ! Thank you so much for what you have explained and all the advices given. Kind regards Michel