My First Kris

[arsendaday]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

I WOULD THINK BENDING THE INDONESIAN OR MALAY KERIS OR ANY PARMOR BLADE TO BE ESPECIALLY RISKY DUE TO THE WAY THEY ARE MADE. I HAVE SEEN A TIP BROKEN OFF JUST FROM DROPPING A BLADE ON ITS TIP. SOME KERIS HAVE A STEEL CENTER WITH APPLIED PARMOR LAYERS ON BOTH SIDES WHICH COULD POSSIBLY SEPARATE OR BREAK. THE TANG OR PESKI IS OFTEN NOT TEMPERED AND CAN BEND AND STAY BENT OR BREAK AS WELL.

Thank you! And that's exactly why I started this "bending" subject. Aside from keris' looks and religious or spiritual aspects, a keris is, first of all, a weapon. And if your weapon can bend or brake during a fight than how useful is it really. What I want to find out about these "daggers" is if they were always made this way, or at some point in the past, due to a shift from a weapon to a religious and/or traditional symbol, the blacksmiths just stopped making them battle-worthy and only concentrated on the looks. It happened to Caucasian kindjals and at some point they were even making kindjals with a beautiful and expensive handles and sheaths (from silver or ivory) and an aluminum blade. Just a wall hanger.
So my question is if anybody owns, or has seen a keris with a blade that is of high quality steel and which will be able to withstand a battle.