Balinese Keris for consideration/comment

A. G. Maisey · 13th February 2014, 12:35 AM

OK. Ten minutes to spare before lunch.

Pamor.

Pamor is made by forge welding layers of contrasting material. This can be various types of iron, which is common in older blades, or in more recent blades by incorporating nickelous material along with ferric material to give a higher contrast.

The basic and most simple pamor pattern is wos wutah, which is layers of the contrasting materials.

By upsetting or manipulating the surface of the blade forging, after the pamor has been welded to the steel core, various patterns are created, which become clear when the blade is finished, examples being:- udan mas, bendo sagodo, wiji timun, & etc.

These are simple patterns that do not use a lot of material and do not take extreme skill nor extreme cost to create.

Other pamor patterns can be created by manipulation of the pamor forging in the fire, before it is welded to the steel core, but sometimes incorporating additional work after the steel core has been welded into place.

This manipulation in the forge involves twisting, re-folding, cutting and re-welding, in fact all sorts of variations on manipulating the material, usually at or close to weld heat, before the pamor billet is completed and before it is welded to the steel core.

These types of pamor require an extremely high degree of skill to create and use a lot of material through flaking of the billet during the process. Consequently these types of pamor are very much more expensive to create than the basic wos wutah, or the surface manipulated pamors that are all the result of further processing of wos wutah.

Wos wutah and the surface manipulated pamors are called "mlumah" pamors. Mlumah means "laying down", a reference to the layers of pamor laying in the same orientation as the core.

The other twisted, cut, refolded, rewelded complex pamors are called "miring" pamors, referring to the fact that the layers of pamor are set at an angle to the core.

"surface manipulated pamor" is not a derogatory term.

Jean · 13th February 2014, 08:31 AM

Hello Alan,
Excellent and very concise summary of the pamor making process!
Regards

Jean · 13th February 2014, 09:01 AM

Hello Vogan,
This style of pamor seems quite common in Lombok, see two other blades in my collection which look quite similar. According to the book from Djelenga I have identified this pamor style as Rante or Srante (chain) but other attributions could be given.
Best regards

A. G. Maisey · 13th February 2014, 11:08 AM

Thanks Jean.

However, this is not pamor rante.

I can see how you thought it might be, because in the example that Djelenga gives a small part comes close to the pattern, but rante must have the "pools" of pamor which represent the links in a chain, joined by a narrow strip. Djelenga's example comes close in a few spots, but the ideal is for clearly defined links to be joined by clearly defined narrow strips.

The examples you show, and Vogan's keris do not come close to being a rante pamor.

The possibilities that I propose are just pools of pamor without the narrow strip, as is Vogan's keris.

Rante is a very common Madura pamor, and is also known in Jawa, it is similar to melati rinonce, they are in fact exactly the same pamor, made in the same way, but melati rinonce is usually smaller and neater than rante. From memory, I think Tammens gives a good example of rante, and because he used sketches the design is easier to understand than an actual blade.

13th February 2014, 12:35 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	OK. Ten minutes to spare before lunch. Pamor. Pamor is made by forge welding layers of contrasting material. This can be various types of iron, which is common in older blades, or in more recent blades by incorporating nickelous material along with ferric material to give a higher contrast. The basic and most simple pamor pattern is wos wutah, which is layers of the contrasting materials. By upsetting or manipulating the surface of the blade forging, after the pamor has been welded to the steel core, various patterns are created, which become clear when the blade is finished, examples being:- udan mas, bendo sagodo, wiji timun, & etc. These are simple patterns that do not use a lot of material and do not take extreme skill nor extreme cost to create. Other pamor patterns can be created by manipulation of the pamor forging in the fire, before it is welded to the steel core, but sometimes incorporating additional work after the steel core has been welded into place. This manipulation in the forge involves twisting, re-folding, cutting and re-welding, in fact all sorts of variations on manipulating the material, usually at or close to weld heat, before the pamor billet is completed and before it is welded to the steel core. These types of pamor require an extremely high degree of skill to create and use a lot of material through flaking of the billet during the process. Consequently these types of pamor are very much more expensive to create than the basic wos wutah, or the surface manipulated pamors that are all the result of further processing of wos wutah. Wos wutah and the surface manipulated pamors are called "mlumah" pamors. Mlumah means "laying down", a reference to the layers of pamor laying in the same orientation as the core. The other twisted, cut, refolded, rewelded complex pamors are called "miring" pamors, referring to the fact that the layers of pamor are set at an angle to the core. "surface manipulated pamor" is not a derogatory term. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 13th February 2014 at 11:13 AM. Reason: clarification

13th February 2014, 09:01 AM	#3
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Hello Vogan, This style of pamor seems quite common in Lombok, see two other blades in my collection which look quite similar. According to the book from Djelenga I have identified this pamor style as Rante or Srante (chain) but other attributions could be given. Best regards Attached Images

13th February 2014, 08:31 AM	#2
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Hello Alan, Excellent and very concise summary of the pamor making process! Regards

13th February 2014, 11:08 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Thanks Jean. However, this is not pamor rante. I can see how you thought it might be, because in the example that Djelenga gives a small part comes close to the pattern, but rante must have the "pools" of pamor which represent the links in a chain, joined by a narrow strip. Djelenga's example comes close in a few spots, but the ideal is for clearly defined links to be joined by clearly defined narrow strips. The examples you show, and Vogan's keris do not come close to being a rante pamor. The possibilities that I propose are just pools of pamor without the narrow strip, as is Vogan's keris. Rante is a very common Madura pamor, and is also known in Jawa, it is similar to melati rinonce, they are in fact exactly the same pamor, made in the same way, but melati rinonce is usually smaller and neater than rante. From memory, I think Tammens gives a good example of rante, and because he used sketches the design is easier to understand than an actual blade.