Angle between ganja and pesi

A. G. Maisey · 4th September 2007, 11:04 PM

A bakalan/calonan is a forging.There is a difference in the two words in Indonesian, but in English "forging" covers both. Go here:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/PBXIIempus.html

scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see what a keris forging should look like before it is carved.

The angle between the pesi and the ganja can vary because of difference in thickness of the ganja on each side of the pesi, but in making the keris, the important thing is the angle of the blade relevant to the blade base.

Before you start to make the keris you must make a pattern. You can draw this if you are a good artist, or you can use a suitable old blade and trace the outline.This pattern will establish the overall form and angles of the blade. To set the angle of the blade you take a line through the centre of the pesi and extend it past the point, you establish an angle of 90 degrees between the blade base and this line, in a normal sized keris of Surakarta style the point must fall between 5 and 6 cm. from the line.You cut your pattern to agree with the angle you have established, but you leave the top of the pattern above the blade base, uncut. You then draw the ganja that you want in its place. When you have drawn the ganja you may find that some slight adjustments to angles are required for aesthetic reasons. You make these adjustments. When you are satisfied with the form of the pattern, you complete cutting it to shape, and you are ready to begin forging your keris to shape. It can help if you make a couple of copies of the pattern and glue one of them to a piece of light flat iron. This will allow you to constantly check as you forge.

The thickness of the ganja is an aesthetic consideration, but generally speaking, a blade with a thick ganja is regarded as artistically superior to one with a thin ganja, but bear in mind, one must have the experience to judge what is acceptable within the given parameters.You cannot just make "a ganja". You need to make the ganja to the correct form to suit the style of keris that you are making, and this style of keris needs to be governed by the parameters set by tangguh. If one does not understand tangguh it is probably best to find a blade that is pleasing to one's eye and copy that blade, or at least, use it for a guide. It is very, very difficult to make an accurate copy of a blade, but it is not so difficult to use a blade as a guide to help in establishing the forms that will appear in the finished blade.

If the keris being made is not of a normal size, the angle can be established by scaling against that applicable to a normal keris, however, after this scaling has been done, it is virtually certain that adjustments to angle will be required.

As a very broad aesthetic guide to the final visual impression that will be created by the keris, it should reflect the character, personality and perhaps physical build of the person it is being made for.However, this interpretation must be made within the parameters permitted by the style of the keris.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Threaded Mode

4th September 2007, 11:04 PM	#9
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	A bakalan/calonan is a forging.There is a difference in the two words in Indonesian, but in English "forging" covers both. Go here:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/PBXIIempus.html scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see what a keris forging should look like before it is carved. The angle between the pesi and the ganja can vary because of difference in thickness of the ganja on each side of the pesi, but in making the keris, the important thing is the angle of the blade relevant to the blade base. Before you start to make the keris you must make a pattern. You can draw this if you are a good artist, or you can use a suitable old blade and trace the outline.This pattern will establish the overall form and angles of the blade. To set the angle of the blade you take a line through the centre of the pesi and extend it past the point, you establish an angle of 90 degrees between the blade base and this line, in a normal sized keris of Surakarta style the point must fall between 5 and 6 cm. from the line.You cut your pattern to agree with the angle you have established, but you leave the top of the pattern above the blade base, uncut. You then draw the ganja that you want in its place. When you have drawn the ganja you may find that some slight adjustments to angles are required for aesthetic reasons. You make these adjustments. When you are satisfied with the form of the pattern, you complete cutting it to shape, and you are ready to begin forging your keris to shape. It can help if you make a couple of copies of the pattern and glue one of them to a piece of light flat iron. This will allow you to constantly check as you forge. The thickness of the ganja is an aesthetic consideration, but generally speaking, a blade with a thick ganja is regarded as artistically superior to one with a thin ganja, but bear in mind, one must have the experience to judge what is acceptable within the given parameters.You cannot just make "a ganja". You need to make the ganja to the correct form to suit the style of keris that you are making, and this style of keris needs to be governed by the parameters set by tangguh. If one does not understand tangguh it is probably best to find a blade that is pleasing to one's eye and copy that blade, or at least, use it for a guide. It is very, very difficult to make an accurate copy of a blade, but it is not so difficult to use a blade as a guide to help in establishing the forms that will appear in the finished blade. If the keris being made is not of a normal size, the angle can be established by scaling against that applicable to a normal keris, however, after this scaling has been done, it is virtually certain that adjustments to angle will be required. As a very broad aesthetic guide to the final visual impression that will be created by the keris, it should reflect the character, personality and perhaps physical build of the person it is being made for.However, this interpretation must be made within the parameters permitted by the style of the keris.