Pattern Welding Kampilan and Kris

[kai]

Hello Ariel,

that’s exactly what I had in mind and was saying about the kris presented here: dark edges due to tempering.

Well, these blades are most certainly not tempered. The central steel layer is certainly higher carbon steel with at least the edges hardened; it's tough to establish whether these got differentially hardened/quenched though. Indonesian/Malay Keris are usually water quenched by dipping the distal third to 2 thirds into water - I have yet to see a Moro kris with the same tell-tale v-shape discolouration. However, this is also not commonly seen on keris and the larger size of the Moro kris may dissipate heat resulting in more gradual transition between hardened and non-hardened areas.

Regards,
Kai