A keris, at last.

David · 15th October 2012, 06:11 PM

....oh, and the proper orienation for that hilt form is 180º in the opposite direction...

Sajen · 15th October 2012, 07:21 PM

Hello David,

it seems that you have a nice strong blade, dapur seems to be Jalak Ruwuh. Would like to see it proper stained. The cross piece of the sheath is not bad, when the fit of the blade is good I would keep it and clean it with very fine steel wool and then rub it with flax oil. The gandar, like David pointed out, isn't original and I would try to replace it. A better hilt and I think you have a nice keris.

Regards,

Detlef

David R · 15th October 2012, 09:15 PM

Thank you everyone, this is why I came to this forum. I wondered about the hilt orientation, and if it is not the original I may very well rplace it, and will certainly get it turned the right way round.
The blade has had it's first clean and oil already. I am studying whether I can repair the sheath, or will need to replace part of it. The upper portion does fit the blade ok, so probably best I keep it.

A. G. Maisey · 15th October 2012, 09:59 PM

Not a bad old keris. Not bad at all, and all perfectly fixable.

The blade appears to Surakarta:- ron dha, blumbangan boto adeg, ada-ada, + the curve of the ganja

To fix the gandar --- that's the part of the scabbard that accommodates the blade--- thin down the edges of the break on the inside, and use a very thin, ie, paper thin, piece of wood to fit into the hole inside the gandar, it must be a neat, close fit, shaved down bambu is good to do this with, then glue it into place with 5 minute araldite. You can run a thread through a couple of little holes to provide a handle, and then you use this to hold the bambu in place until the glue sets, then you just pull the thread out. Let the glue joint cure, then use a plastic putty tinted with burnt umber powder to fill the depression, overfill and sand back smooth. Any other little splits and gaps that might be in it can be filled with tinted plastic putty or tinted araldite. Separate the gandar from the atasan --- top part--- before you start.

Sand, fill, polish, and then use Scandinavian Oil or similar to finish it, bring the oil finish up to a high gloss with a few coats, then gently rub back with 0000 steel wool to give it a subdued finish.

To refit the gandar make sure the tongues of the gandar are clean and the mating surface inside the atasan is clean, score the mating surfaces, make a wedge that will hold the mating surfaces tight together when put in place through the mouth of the atasan, use 5 minute araldite for the adhesive. If you want a traditional adhesive, use button shellac, but this is a weak adhesive and you'll be constantly re-doing it. Align the atasan and gandar by putting the blade into the scabbard when you have the glued surfaces in place, then carefully remove the blade without altering the alignment and put the wedge in place. Use silicon car polish for a release agent., clean the blade with mineral turps. If you need to pack the gandar tongues to get a tight fit it is best use build up paper thin slices of bambu with araldite and then make one final , tiny adjustment with a very sharp knife.

The hilt is rough, but a hand rub with baby oil will make it look 100% better than it is.

Like I said, its all 100% fixable, and it will restore very well.

An easy way to do the scabbard would be simply to buy a pendok for it, but it seems you like old villagey stuff, and the restored gandar will give you this better than a pendok will.

Sajen · 15th October 2012, 10:24 PM

Hello Alan,

I am not sure that the gandar is the original one for the atasan, have a look at the second picture posted by David. It seems to small for the atasan.

Regards,

Detlef

A. G. Maisey · 15th October 2012, 11:38 PM

Detlef, when we are dealing with low quality, village type dress we can find almost anything in the way dress is put together. Village people would often make dress themselves, or buy bits and pieces from a market, new, used, and assemble it themselves. Fit of gandar to atasan did not/does not need to be good because the thing is a dress item, and the joint cannot be seen when it is put in place in the setagen ( the sash around the waist where the scabbard is worn)
David R. clearly likes rather rustic things, he ID's himself as an "ethnic" collector, which in my experience means people like the stuff that still smells of cooking smoke. If I'm right about David R.'s preferences, then he's best to restore this scabbard as is, but if he wants to upgrade it to something that the vast majority of keris collectors prefer he should simply buy a new pendok and forget what's underneath it.

Henk · 16th October 2012, 07:58 PM

I completely agree here with Alan. David, just follow Alan's instructions. You won't regret it. Also the ukiran (hilt) is perfect and good for this dress. Don't replace it. But as David mentioned turn it 180 degrees.
This is such a lovely village made keris. I really like these.

15th October 2012, 06:11 PM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	....oh, and the proper orienation for that hilt form is 180º in the opposite direction...

15th October 2012, 07:21 PM	#2
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,165	Hello David, it seems that you have a nice strong blade, dapur seems to be Jalak Ruwuh. Would like to see it proper stained. The cross piece of the sheath is not bad, when the fit of the blade is good I would keep it and clean it with very fine steel wool and then rub it with flax oil. The gandar, like David pointed out, isn't original and I would try to replace it. A better hilt and I think you have a nice keris. Regards, Detlef

15th October 2012, 09:15 PM	#3
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,116	Thank you everyone, this is why I came to this forum. I wondered about the hilt orientation, and if it is not the original I may very well rplace it, and will certainly get it turned the right way round. The blade has had it's first clean and oil already. I am studying whether I can repair the sheath, or will need to replace part of it. The upper portion does fit the blade ok, so probably best I keep it.

15th October 2012, 09:59 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Not a bad old keris. Not bad at all, and all perfectly fixable. The blade appears to Surakarta:- ron dha, blumbangan boto adeg, ada-ada, + the curve of the ganja To fix the gandar --- that's the part of the scabbard that accommodates the blade--- thin down the edges of the break on the inside, and use a very thin, ie, paper thin, piece of wood to fit into the hole inside the gandar, it must be a neat, close fit, shaved down bambu is good to do this with, then glue it into place with 5 minute araldite. You can run a thread through a couple of little holes to provide a handle, and then you use this to hold the bambu in place until the glue sets, then you just pull the thread out. Let the glue joint cure, then use a plastic putty tinted with burnt umber powder to fill the depression, overfill and sand back smooth. Any other little splits and gaps that might be in it can be filled with tinted plastic putty or tinted araldite. Separate the gandar from the atasan --- top part--- before you start. Sand, fill, polish, and then use Scandinavian Oil or similar to finish it, bring the oil finish up to a high gloss with a few coats, then gently rub back with 0000 steel wool to give it a subdued finish. To refit the gandar make sure the tongues of the gandar are clean and the mating surface inside the atasan is clean, score the mating surfaces, make a wedge that will hold the mating surfaces tight together when put in place through the mouth of the atasan, use 5 minute araldite for the adhesive. If you want a traditional adhesive, use button shellac, but this is a weak adhesive and you'll be constantly re-doing it. Align the atasan and gandar by putting the blade into the scabbard when you have the glued surfaces in place, then carefully remove the blade without altering the alignment and put the wedge in place. Use silicon car polish for a release agent., clean the blade with mineral turps. If you need to pack the gandar tongues to get a tight fit it is best use build up paper thin slices of bambu with araldite and then make one final , tiny adjustment with a very sharp knife. The hilt is rough, but a hand rub with baby oil will make it look 100% better than it is. Like I said, its all 100% fixable, and it will restore very well. An easy way to do the scabbard would be simply to buy a pendok for it, but it seems you like old villagey stuff, and the restored gandar will give you this better than a pendok will.

15th October 2012, 10:24 PM	#5
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,165	Hello Alan, I am not sure that the gandar is the original one for the atasan, have a look at the second picture posted by David. It seems to small for the atasan. Regards, Detlef

15th October 2012, 11:38 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Detlef, when we are dealing with low quality, village type dress we can find almost anything in the way dress is put together. Village people would often make dress themselves, or buy bits and pieces from a market, new, used, and assemble it themselves. Fit of gandar to atasan did not/does not need to be good because the thing is a dress item, and the joint cannot be seen when it is put in place in the setagen ( the sash around the waist where the scabbard is worn) David R. clearly likes rather rustic things, he ID's himself as an "ethnic" collector, which in my experience means people like the stuff that still smells of cooking smoke. If I'm right about David R.'s preferences, then he's best to restore this scabbard as is, but if he wants to upgrade it to something that the vast majority of keris collectors prefer he should simply buy a new pendok and forget what's underneath it.

16th October 2012, 07:58 PM	#7
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	I completely agree here with Alan. David, just follow Alan's instructions. You won't regret it. Also the ukiran (hilt) is perfect and good for this dress. Don't replace it. But as David mentioned turn it 180 degrees. This is such a lovely village made keris. I really like these.