Bali Keris #3

[S.Workman]

Originally Posted by Jean

My personal thoughts about this kris, which may not be approved by all members and I apologize in advance:
. This is an old Bali/ Lombok blade indeed. Unfortunately somebody seems to have sanded the rusty areas, which have caused the colour to fade and the pamor to get blurred. If this blade was mine, I would take the risk to send it to a reliable craftsman for complete cleaning and warangan. From experience the polish would not be affected.
. From the pics the pamor pattern seems to be Ngulit Semangka as said by David.
. The greneng is rustic and the ganja is worn-out, I would remove it and carefully clean the face in contact with the blade as well as the bottom face of the blade and glue the ganja in place with Superglue to avoid skewing.
. The fitting of the blade into the sheath slot is acceptable but the 2 pieces are not originally matching IMO.
. I would add a ring (uwer) on the peksi between the hilt and the blade.
Regards

Thanks for writing Jean. While I am no expert, I think that the fading along the edges of the blade, if thats what you are referring to, were caused by the slight "catch" as the blade enters the sheath. It is a bit tight, which may possibly be more evidence that it's not original? Or that the wood has shrunk a bit, who knows. As far as sending the piece away, I don't think that I can afford it. Shipping alone with reliable tracking is in the hundreds of dollars range. I won't use USPS for this because their tracking isn't really, and UPS is very pricey.
My other two keris I worked on myself, and I guess I did OK, but I am not a professional restorer of anything. In the case of those two, it was do or die, since both were actually in trouble. I may just sit this one out.