New Keris--Balinese?

Daniel · 21st April 2008, 12:49 AM

I ran across this keris at our local flea market. It reminds me quite a bit of a Balinese keris I had posted on this forum last year:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3954

This one is a bit larger (18" blade), and has 11 waves rather than 5. It seems reasonably well made, but the pamor looks rather odd to me. I'd appreciate any comments on what I have here.

Thanks, DD

David · 21st April 2008, 03:57 AM

Hi Daniel. Well, the dress is fairly recent, of "tourist" quality and damaged besides. The blade does seem fairly well formed, but i must agree that the pamor does looks strange, almost like it has been painted on. Perhaps someone thought they could make this look more interesting for sale by "creating" a better pamor for it.
If it were mine i would clean and re-stain it to see what i really had.

A. G. Maisey · 21st April 2008, 04:16 AM

This looks like "pamor batik" to me.

In the bottom pic you can quite clearly see the difference between the iron skin and the steel core, but the pamor is visible on the steel.

Pamor does not appear in a steel core, unless it is combined with iron, and the iron+contrasting material has over-run into the steel. That is not the case in this keris.

David · 21st April 2008, 04:36 AM

Alan, can you explain the technique used in creating "pamor batik"? It looks superficial in the photos, like something that was added later.

A. G. Maisey · 21st April 2008, 05:13 AM

Extraordinarily difficult and complex technique, David. Probably can only be done really well by a child under the age of 8 years, or an old lady with time on her hands.

Firstly draw the pamor pattern on the blade using hot wax. The tool used to do this is a canting, the tool that is used for drawing the pattern on cloth in order to create batik.

Then the blade is stained in the normal way, this of course is done by somebody skilled in this craft.

Finally the wax is removed by pouring boiling water over the blade.

Voila! Pamor batik!

Daniel · 21st April 2008, 09:12 PM

I appreciate the comments. I thought there was something terribly wrong when I saw the streaks running counter to the grain of the steel, but wasn't sure if this was a bad attempt at faking the layers or was some common decorative treatment that I had never heard of.

In any case, Under magnification, I can see that the bright lines stand slightly proud of the background (maybe .001" or thereabouts). I suppose if the wax resist was used, it protected the steel from being etched where the lines occur. I don't know if cleaning the blade at this point would make the lines disappear or not. I don't like the idea of using abrasives to remove them, so I may just stain them as best I can to make it less obtrusive. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for your help,

DD

21st April 2008, 12:49 AM	#1
Daniel Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: California Posts: 16	New Keris--Balinese? I ran across this keris at our local flea market. It reminds me quite a bit of a Balinese keris I had posted on this forum last year: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3954 This one is a bit larger (18" blade), and has 11 waves rather than 5. It seems reasonably well made, but the pamor looks rather odd to me. I'd appreciate any comments on what I have here. Thanks, DD Attached Images

21st April 2008, 03:57 AM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Hi Daniel. Well, the dress is fairly recent, of "tourist" quality and damaged besides. The blade does seem fairly well formed, but i must agree that the pamor does looks strange, almost like it has been painted on. Perhaps someone thought they could make this look more interesting for sale by "creating" a better pamor for it. If it were mine i would clean and re-stain it to see what i really had.

21st April 2008, 04:16 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,896	This looks like "pamor batik" to me. In the bottom pic you can quite clearly see the difference between the iron skin and the steel core, but the pamor is visible on the steel. Pamor does not appear in a steel core, unless it is combined with iron, and the iron+contrasting material has over-run into the steel. That is not the case in this keris.

21st April 2008, 04:36 AM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,127	Alan, can you explain the technique used in creating "pamor batik"? It looks superficial in the photos, like something that was added later.

21st April 2008, 05:13 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,896	Extraordinarily difficult and complex technique, David. Probably can only be done really well by a child under the age of 8 years, or an old lady with time on her hands. Firstly draw the pamor pattern on the blade using hot wax. The tool used to do this is a canting, the tool that is used for drawing the pattern on cloth in order to create batik. Then the blade is stained in the normal way, this of course is done by somebody skilled in this craft. Finally the wax is removed by pouring boiling water over the blade. Voila! Pamor batik!

21st April 2008, 09:12 PM	#6
Daniel Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: California Posts: 16	I appreciate the comments. I thought there was something terribly wrong when I saw the streaks running counter to the grain of the steel, but wasn't sure if this was a bad attempt at faking the layers or was some common decorative treatment that I had never heard of. In any case, Under magnification, I can see that the bright lines stand slightly proud of the background (maybe .001" or thereabouts). I suppose if the wax resist was used, it protected the steel from being etched where the lines occur. I don't know if cleaning the blade at this point would make the lines disappear or not. I don't like the idea of using abrasives to remove them, so I may just stain them as best I can to make it less obtrusive. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for your help, DD