Bugis keris unusual blade/help wanted

asomotif · 18th April 2008, 12:58 PM

Dear All,

I bought this keris in Bugis dress.
The blade seems to be Ganja Iras on first sight and seems to be single steel/iron.
But the ganja shows some forging lines that indicates it is a separate ganja.

Further, what origin would this blade be ?
Any suggestions for cleaning etching the blade ?

Thanks and best regards,
Willem

Ps. I took the pictures with my girlfriends expensive 'Canon' camera and put them on a memory stick. Much better than my old 'trust' camera.

kai · 18th April 2008, 09:07 PM

Hello Willem,

Yes, definitely separate ganja. Very graceful lines, congrats!

Make sure to completely clean the blade first if you really want to etch this blade. If at all, I'd opt for non-warangan staining (e.g. hot vinegar or something similar resulting in a low contrast pamor). Make sure that you don't overdo the etching since the metal has been traditionally kept smooth on this piece - IMO these look horrible with a Javanese finish.

Regards,
Kai

Newsteel · 19th April 2008, 01:29 AM

Hi asomotif,

Congratulation for having such nice and 'graceful' keris. It got well-executed fullers and overall it does look sweet.

However I doubt this is a bugis. Yours is a keris melayu (Malay keris) from the Malaysian peninsular region. Specifically which region, I am not able to tell. Maybe our fellow friends can assist.

The sampir is made from ketengga wood and the batang is from sena (angsana) wood.

PenangsangII · 19th April 2008, 04:59 AM

I agree that this piece is of North East Peninsular origin - Trengganu is my best bet (well, Riau is my 2nd bet)

asomotif · 22nd April 2008, 11:47 AM

Thank you for the info.

I will take some time to careful clean it and see if careful etching brings some more details in the blade.

Thanks and best regards,
Willem

BluErf · 22nd April 2008, 03:15 PM

This is not a Peninsula keris. It is a Sumatran keris, probably from some region along the Eastern coast. The sampir is not made from Ketenga wood; but I don't know what wood it is.

The hilt form, the pendoko and the shape of the sampir are Sumatran forms.

The blade is also too 'fat' to be a peninsula keris.

18th April 2008, 12:58 PM	#1
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,224	Bugis keris unusual blade/help wanted Dear All, I bought this keris in Bugis dress. The blade seems to be Ganja Iras on first sight and seems to be single steel/iron. But the ganja shows some forging lines that indicates it is a separate ganja. Further, what origin would this blade be ? Any suggestions for cleaning etching the blade ? Thanks and best regards, Willem Ps. I took the pictures with my girlfriends expensive 'Canon' camera and put them on a memory stick. Much better than my old 'trust' camera. Attached Images

18th April 2008, 09:07 PM	#2
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,252	Hello Willem, Yes, definitely separate ganja. Very graceful lines, congrats! Make sure to completely clean the blade first if you really want to etch this blade. If at all, I'd opt for non-warangan staining (e.g. hot vinegar or something similar resulting in a low contrast pamor). Make sure that you don't overdo the etching since the metal has been traditionally kept smooth on this piece - IMO these look horrible with a Javanese finish. Regards, Kai

19th April 2008, 01:29 AM	#3
Newsteel Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 132	Hi asomotif, Congratulation for having such nice and 'graceful' keris. It got well-executed fullers and overall it does look sweet. However I doubt this is a bugis. Yours is a keris melayu (Malay keris) from the Malaysian peninsular region. Specifically which region, I am not able to tell. Maybe our fellow friends can assist. The sampir is made from ketengga wood and the batang is from sena (angsana) wood.

19th April 2008, 04:59 AM	#4
PenangsangII Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 401	I agree that this piece is of North East Peninsular origin - Trengganu is my best bet (well, Riau is my 2nd bet)

22nd April 2008, 11:47 AM	#5
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,224	Thank you for the info. I will take some time to careful clean it and see if careful etching brings some more details in the blade. Thanks and best regards, Willem

22nd April 2008, 03:15 PM	#6
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	This is not a Peninsula keris. It is a Sumatran keris, probably from some region along the Eastern coast. The sampir is not made from Ketenga wood; but I don't know what wood it is. The hilt form, the pendoko and the shape of the sampir are Sumatran forms. The blade is also too 'fat' to be a peninsula keris.