Maranao Sundang

[David]

Originally Posted by kai

Yes, I also would like to see some photographic evidence from the late 19th or early 20th century. I'm not keeping my breath though since (light) staining of blades is hard enough to photograph nowadays and obviously much less likely to get picked up accidentally with antique photography equipment.

I wouldn't expect to be able to clearly see a pattern, but photo equiptment from the turn of the century was certainly advanced enough to be able to see if the blade was shiny or darkened. It would all depend on if the photograph was a reasonable distance from a drawn blade

Originally Posted by kai

The northern keris are often only etched rather than stained with warangan. Thus, all keris were routinely etched (and often stained). IMHO this makes it pretty likely that kris (keris sundang) were traditionally etched, too.

I not only follow your logic, but tend to agree with it. I am not necessarily presenting the argument that blades weren't etched, just looking for evidence of it.
My point about Javanese keris once receiving a Balinese style polish with it's etching was only to show that traditions can change over the years. It would be nice if we could determine with some certainty if etching blades dark was indeed always the tradition.

[Battara]

I will make a note - even if the blades were originally etched (and I think they were like most of those in Indonesia) many may not have been kept that way all the time, especially battle field pieces, but occasionally.

Then as time passes, the etching/staining may not stay for long due to oxidation or soft abrasion in the scabbards. I have noticed this on Indonesian pieces. My Balinese keris blade, for example, was once black and silver, but 200 years later is grey-blue and silver. In some of the museums, I have seen junggayan kris that showed the pattern welding - and the museums do not have the understanding or time to etch/stain!

However, I do know that subsequent owners who brought them over to the US did as a custom of the day did polish/clean blades - PI/Moro/US Civil War/etc - and made them shiny......

[P.Abrera]

Originally Posted by Battara

I will make a note - even if the blades were originally etched (and I think they were like most of those in Indonesia) many may not have been kept that way all the time, especially battle field pieces, but occasionally.

Then as time passes, the etching/staining may not stay for long due to oxidation or soft abrasion in the scabbards. I have noticed this on Indonesian pieces. My Balinese keris blade, for example, was once black and silver, but 200 years later is grey-blue and silver. In some of the museums, I have seen junggayan kris that showed the pattern welding - and the museums do not have the understanding or time to etch/stain!

However, I do know that subsequent owners who brought them over to the US did as a custom of the day did polish/clean blades - PI/Moro/US Civil War/etc - and made them shiny......

Just to get my 2 cents in, I would assume that since the moro aesthetic included choosing well grained woods for the beautiful figure of the grain as well as taking pains to polish horn and ivory for thier luster, thier aesthetic may very well have included etching treatments to reveal and enhance the grain and complex blade structures of thier swords.

But just to balance that out, stories are told of the practice of polishing and whitening blades before going juramentado as well.

These are just old stories but may well have some basis like the term "pinuti" in visayan swords meaning to whiten.

Just throwing some ideas around

[David]

Well, this is just Wiki info and the actual statement is not credited, but this article also mentions polishing the weapon before juramentado.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BusterD/sandbox