My first kris :)

[kai]

Hello Bill,

I guess that by mid 20thC the "traditional" warrior culture was going through a dramatic change in weapons & the wearing of swords was shifting in populous areas to limited special events or even wall hangers. So one would expect to see the flash & not the wear.

Yes, although I'm inclined to think of this as a downhill trend due to colonial powers and decadence rather than being the expression of a continuously developing culture. Much of the skills seem to have been lost after the Span.-Am. war and, especially, during the early 20th c. After WW2 there seems to have been a wave of flashy innovations regarding dress and souvenir items.

It's interesting to note though that kris were used in guerilla warfare well into the 1970s (or 80s?) which makes them one of the last traditional swords utilized in modern times...

Regards,
Kai