A recent purchase.

David R · 19th April 2025, 10:57 PM

I bought this last weekend at a local arms fair, it looked interesting and the price was right. Other than that all I know is that the blade looks to be very worn with a tag at the end, and the hilt has been glued in place the wrong way round. Comments, opinions and information invited.

milandro · 20th April 2025, 09:48 AM

very nice kris, with a good age and worth restoring to its former beauty.

The Ganja need probably to be fixed as il looks loose (but maybe the same person who glued the ukiran did that too). If it would be mine (I know not everyone here has the same opinion) I would have it cleaned and stained. Acquiring a suitable sheath and having it made to size to fit the blade is not so easy everywhere but I managed to have this done in Indonesia for me several times and I would certainly dot this if it were mine.

I am sure that other people more knowledgeable would elaborate on the form

David · 22nd April 2025, 04:16 PM

I agree with Milandro that this is a nice, well formed old keris. While it might be nice to restain the blade i don't think it is a must in regards to "restoration". The blade, at least in the photos, appears to be rust free. The tip of the gonjo is bent up a but, but it could be dangerous to mess with that as you don't want to break it off trying to bend it back into place.
I like to see a close up of the tip of the blade to see what is going on there.
You should be able to loosen the glue on the hilt with some gentle heating at the base of the blade. It would be nice if you could free the hilt an position it properly. Getting a wrongko will be the difficult part. Sometimes you can find used empty ones on ePray and sometimes you can find new ones that have not been fitted and do the fitting yourself. I would hesitate sending a keris back to Jawa to have one custom made. Too many chances for loss.

milandro · 22nd April 2025, 04:59 PM

there is no need to send the kris to Jawa (or other parts of Indonesia)

You can make a good series of measurements and send pics and there are several people able to fashion a sheath to size.

I have done this 3 times and it came back slightly smaller a fit and I was able to find someone to make the final adjustments made.

In the NL we are fortunate enough to have a few people whom are more than capable to stain krises but this is not the case elsewhere.

19th April 2025, 10:57 PM	#1
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,113	A recent purchase. I bought this last weekend at a local arms fair, it looked interesting and the price was right. Other than that all I know is that the blade looks to be very worn with a tag at the end, and the hilt has been glued in place the wrong way round. Comments, opinions and information invited. Attached Images

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20th April 2025, 09:48 AM	#2
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 486	very nice kris, with a good age and worth restoring to its former beauty. The Ganja need probably to be fixed as il looks loose (but maybe the same person who glued the ukiran did that too). If it would be mine (I know not everyone here has the same opinion) I would have it cleaned and stained. Acquiring a suitable sheath and having it made to size to fit the blade is not so easy everywhere but I managed to have this done in Indonesia for me several times and I would certainly dot this if it were mine. I am sure that other people more knowledgeable would elaborate on the form

22nd April 2025, 04:16 PM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,209	I agree with Milandro that this is a nice, well formed old keris. While it might be nice to restain the blade i don't think it is a must in regards to "restoration". The blade, at least in the photos, appears to be rust free. The tip of the gonjo is bent up a but, but it could be dangerous to mess with that as you don't want to break it off trying to bend it back into place. I like to see a close up of the tip of the blade to see what is going on there. You should be able to loosen the glue on the hilt with some gentle heating at the base of the blade. It would be nice if you could free the hilt an position it properly. Getting a wrongko will be the difficult part. Sometimes you can find used empty ones on ePray and sometimes you can find new ones that have not been fitted and do the fitting yourself. I would hesitate sending a keris back to Jawa to have one custom made. Too many chances for loss.

22nd April 2025, 04:59 PM	#4
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 486	there is no need to send the kris to Jawa (or other parts of Indonesia) You can make a good series of measurements and send pics and there are several people able to fashion a sheath to size. I have done this 3 times and it came back slightly smaller a fit and I was able to find someone to make the final adjustments made. In the NL we are fortunate enough to have a few people whom are more than capable to stain krises but this is not the case elsewhere.