PI Kris for ID and Comments

Battara · 6th March 2005, 12:11 PM

No. Swassa (swaasa, suassa, suaasa, etc.) is not a layer of gold over copper but a mix of gold, copper, and sometimes other metals to produce a 7-9K gold and change in color from a pinkish hue to orange, red, or even green (rarer) hue.

moose · 6th March 2005, 10:41 PM

Here's the second kris I bought. Again a number of years ago. Got this one at a gun show. It was laying on the table in a big pile of mixed blades

I liked it intially because of the diminutive cockatoo that reminded me of my first kris. I also liked the deeper arrowheads and what looks like a gold maker's mark.
It was a lot smaller and no sheath. The blade is 18" 22 3/4" oal. It has a forging fault mid blade on the left side.

Comments Please.

moose

Federico · 6th March 2005, 11:24 PM

Very nice kris. If youve seen any of the other kris threads that exploded with huge number of posts, this is one of the infamous archaic aka. 18th Century kris. It is a very nice example, and the dimmunative cockatua may be orginal, though it does seem like the hilt was lengthened at some point. At least Bob Cato in his book Moro Swords, feels that the 18th century/archaic style originally had hilts of dimmunitive size and pommels. Anyways, try wading through the other origins of kris, is this a moro kris, etc... threads and decide for yourself if this style is truly Moro or not. I still feel they are, with some interesting Brunei conntections, but then that is just my opinion, others have been very voiciferous to the contrary. Anyways, very nice kris, me likey a whole lot.

moose · 7th March 2005, 01:43 AM

Thanks Fredrico,
I have come to appreciate it more over the years. It's faster, just seems more practical in the hand.

Here's a close up of the deep incising near the tip.

moose

Spunjer · 7th March 2005, 02:02 AM

nice one, moose! have you tried etching the blade?

Federico · 7th March 2005, 04:59 AM

Seeing some of the inlay near the top, I wonder if it was at one point fully inlaid. But then, I suppose that could be said about many Moro swords with engraving, were they inlaid at one point, and polishing/etching/corrosion caused the grooves to shallow out. I know on my one kris with some remains of the inlay, many of the grooves seem as if they have shallowed out over the years for one reason or the other. Particularly when part of the inlay pops, then corrosion has a way of building up underneath making the rest want to pop out. Battara would have some great insights into inlay, as he has actually redone inlay on some swords. And if you are in the inlay commenting mood, what did you use to re-engrave the grooves, a graver, scribe, diamond tip engraver for a dremel, etc...? Ive been contemplating redoing the inlay or a sword, but many of the grooves have become to shallow, and need to be re-done.

Battara · 7th March 2005, 03:06 PM

I had to make my own gravers out of tempered steel, but small enough to fit into the grooves and re-ingrave the channels. Very time consuming process. And it is not just the depth but the angle of the cuts that is very important.

6th March 2005, 10:41 PM	#2
moose Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portage, Michigan USA Posts: 44	Kris #2 Here's the second kris I bought. Again a number of years ago. Got this one at a gun show. It was laying on the table in a big pile of mixed blades I liked it intially because of the diminutive cockatoo that reminded me of my first kris. I also liked the deeper arrowheads and what looks like a gold maker's mark. It was a lot smaller and no sheath. The blade is 18" 22 3/4" oal. It has a forging fault mid blade on the left side. Comments Please. moose Attached Images

7th March 2005, 01:43 AM	#4
moose Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portage, Michigan USA Posts: 44	Thanks Fredrico, I have come to appreciate it more over the years. It's faster, just seems more practical in the hand. Here's a close up of the deep incising near the tip. moose Attached Images

6th March 2005, 12:11 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,270	No. Swassa (swaasa, suassa, suaasa, etc.) is not a layer of gold over copper but a mix of gold, copper, and sometimes other metals to produce a 7-9K gold and change in color from a pinkish hue to orange, red, or even green (rarer) hue.

6th March 2005, 11:24 PM	#3
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Very nice kris. If youve seen any of the other kris threads that exploded with huge number of posts, this is one of the infamous archaic aka. 18th Century kris. It is a very nice example, and the dimmunative cockatua may be orginal, though it does seem like the hilt was lengthened at some point. At least Bob Cato in his book Moro Swords, feels that the 18th century/archaic style originally had hilts of dimmunitive size and pommels. Anyways, try wading through the other origins of kris, is this a moro kris, etc... threads and decide for yourself if this style is truly Moro or not. I still feel they are, with some interesting Brunei conntections, but then that is just my opinion, others have been very voiciferous to the contrary. Anyways, very nice kris, me likey a whole lot.

7th March 2005, 02:02 AM	#5
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	nice one, moose! have you tried etching the blade?

7th March 2005, 04:59 AM	#6
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Seeing some of the inlay near the top, I wonder if it was at one point fully inlaid. But then, I suppose that could be said about many Moro swords with engraving, were they inlaid at one point, and polishing/etching/corrosion caused the grooves to shallow out. I know on my one kris with some remains of the inlay, many of the grooves seem as if they have shallowed out over the years for one reason or the other. Particularly when part of the inlay pops, then corrosion has a way of building up underneath making the rest want to pop out. Battara would have some great insights into inlay, as he has actually redone inlay on some swords. And if you are in the inlay commenting mood, what did you use to re-engrave the grooves, a graver, scribe, diamond tip engraver for a dremel, etc...? Ive been contemplating redoing the inlay or a sword, but many of the grooves have become to shallow, and need to be re-done.

7th March 2005, 03:06 PM	#7
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,270	I had to make my own gravers out of tempered steel, but small enough to fit into the grooves and re-ingrave the channels. Very time consuming process. And it is not just the depth but the angle of the cuts that is very important.