PI Kris for ID and Comments

Federico · 12th March 2005, 01:09 AM

Spunjer, the smell you were smelling could have been pitch burning between the gangya and blade. Something that has come up after working with a number of Moro Kris, is that rotation of the gangya may have been a big concern (I personally wonder if that is the true purpose of the asang-asang to prevent rotation vs securing the blade to the hilt). Anyways, most kris that have a good seal between blade and separate gangya, there is a thin layer of pitch securing the two together (ever wonder why the separate gangya just doesnt fall off a bare blade). It is normally well protected from heat, due to the thickness of the gangya and that portion of the blade, but enough direct heat will get it to bubble.

Moose, not Battara, but in my experience with dis-assembled kris, many asang-asang tails (for lack of a better word), when a separate strip than the asang-asang (eg. a copper tail), have been tied to the tang, and inserted into the puhan. I have also seen some with just long enough tails that go just under the ferrule, not much further (not tied to the tang). For one piece asang-asang, usually the iron ones from Mindanao, those tend to go along side the handle, and then hidden by the handle wrap. I have seen two piece asang-asang done similarly, but in most cases they were after market changes, and not the original configuration (would be easier to do than removing the whole hilt). Then again there are always exceptions.

12th March 2005, 01:09 AM	#13
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Spunjer, the smell you were smelling could have been pitch burning between the gangya and blade. Something that has come up after working with a number of Moro Kris, is that rotation of the gangya may have been a big concern (I personally wonder if that is the true purpose of the asang-asang to prevent rotation vs securing the blade to the hilt). Anyways, most kris that have a good seal between blade and separate gangya, there is a thin layer of pitch securing the two together (ever wonder why the separate gangya just doesnt fall off a bare blade). It is normally well protected from heat, due to the thickness of the gangya and that portion of the blade, but enough direct heat will get it to bubble. Moose, not Battara, but in my experience with dis-assembled kris, many asang-asang tails (for lack of a better word), when a separate strip than the asang-asang (eg. a copper tail), have been tied to the tang, and inserted into the puhan. I have also seen some with just long enough tails that go just under the ferrule, not much further (not tied to the tang). For one piece asang-asang, usually the iron ones from Mindanao, those tend to go along side the handle, and then hidden by the handle wrap. I have seen two piece asang-asang done similarly, but in most cases they were after market changes, and not the original configuration (would be easier to do than removing the whole hilt). Then again there are always exceptions.