a very lukky kris

[Rick]

Originally Posted by mrwizard

Hello Tom,
Both stick have similar dimensions: 4mm wide, 2mm high, 95mm long, rectangular cross-section. They are made of wood. The binding looks like hemp and it is/was covered with tar/pitch of some sort. It appears like the sticks were also painted with pitch.

I'm not so sure about the edge alignment theory. While i have no idea how moro martial art looked/looks like, i personally would hold the kris with my thumb resting on the broad side of the blade base for better control. This would provide more than enough edge alignment regardless of hilt geometry

Best Regards,
Thilo

That silver handle alone would be mighty slippery when wet .
The sticks and bindings provide a solid non slip grip .
Handy thing in a wet sword .

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by Rick

That silver handle alone would be mighty slippery when wet .
The sticks and bindings provide a solid non slip grip .
Handy thing in a wet sword .

This seems very unlikely to me.
Moro krisses were made to be ready anytime to fight and kill (what was also necessary as history proofs).
So all the others would be slippery when wet, but this one wouldn't because of the sticks...I think it has another purpose, though I don't know what..

[tom hyle]

The bindings certainly provide grippiness, and they often seem to be an after-market option; sometimes even being added over metal ferules, often occurring alongside/between them. An option some like and others don't does not seem unlikely; it's actually a matter of debate with modern craftsmen and modern sword practitioners; more slidiness or more grippiness? It can be very much a matter of taste. So I'd say that Rick is onto something; apart from its decorative beauty, and its use instead of sheet metal ferules at times by the poor, traditional Moro hilt-wrapping with wire and rattan certainly provides the using value of improved grippiness.
What I wonder is, are the sticks part of a pattern found artistically pleasing alone, or do they impact the grip in a specific way. The Visayan handle is of flattened octagon section. Its front and back flats are notably narrower than the other flats. Sometimes they are even the same, but more often the back flat is wider, often of similar width to the spine of the sword. So this is partly what I am questing around here. Also though, Indonesian blades often have octagonal handles with flat front and back edges; probing; considering.....

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Maurice

This seems very unlikely to me.
Moro krisses were made to be ready anytime to fight and kill (what was also necessary as history proofs).
So all the others would be slippery when wet, but this one wouldn't because of the sticks...I think it has another purpose, though I don't know what..

I've got my doubts about it being a repair of some sort ...

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by Rick

I've got my doubts about it being a repair of some sort ...

Yes Rick, I agree it doesn't look like a repair neither..

[mrwizard]

Originally Posted by Maurice

Yes Rick, I agree it doesn't look like a repair neither..

It is definitely no repair. The sticks are too small to stabilize a broken hilt or similar damage. If they were broader they could probably serve as some kind of shock absorber.
Aesthetically they follow the asang-asang, so i still think they are mostly decoration or some kind of talisman.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by mrwizard

It is definitely no repair. The sticks are too small to stabilize a broken hilt or similar damage. If they were broader they could probably serve as some kind of shock absorber.
Aesthetically they follow the asang-asang, so i still think they are mostly decoration or some kind of talisman.

I think that these sticks are just a help to keep the bindings at the correct distance.

Regards,

Detlef

[mrwizard]

Hello Detlef,

good idea,
but the bindings are not on the silver rings but between them.