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Old 19th February 2010, 12:21 AM   #1
Rick
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Originally Posted by laEspadaAncha
Hello Vandoo and thank you for the response. I just returned and will take some more pictures of the first kris shortly - sounds like I might have to hold off for the time being on deciding which to keep...

In the meantime, I have included photos of the second kris in this post.

The second kris has seen better days. However, as there was little active rust or corrosion when I took delivery of these and they were for the most part stabilized, I am of the opinion the deterioration of the blade had taken place some time ago, long before I took possession of it (though how long ago I do not know). The blade of this kris measures approx. 21 3/8 inches in length, with an OAL of 27 inches. Unlike the other example, the gangya (sp? ganja?), which measures approx. 4 inches across, is integrated into the blade. There no readily apparent distal taper that runs the length of the blade as there is with the first example. The blade does appear to taper in width, though not as much as the other; furthermore, the deterioration and blade loss makes such a measurement (at least to any degree of accuracy) unreliable IMO. The hilt treatment is obviously different and far less ornate. It is also somewhat lighter than the other kris.









I'll post some pictures of the Odd Knife in the next post, after which I'll take some close-up photos of the first kris (and the axe heads).
Here's another kris from that era .
I believe your's has lost its M.O.P. decorations .
This example I show is a plain one. pattern welded of many layers .
Razor sharp (the sharpest of all my Moro krisses), a real user .
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Old 19th February 2010, 01:51 AM   #2
laEspadaAncha
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Hi Rick,

Thank you for posting that example of yours for comparison - I see some definite similarities.

I have one other Sulu kris that is heavy, huge, and MoP-hilted... the MoP panelling on the pommel on that example is held into place by pairs of small pins/nails. By contrast, this one (the one of mine you reference in your post) shows no indication of ever having been perforated (unlike the scabbard, which still has retaining pins).

When I look closely at the thread-over-cloth covering the lower half of the grip, it looks as if the wrapping may be prematurely truncated, as it is tied off at the midway point of the grip... maybe at one time it covered the whole grip?
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Old 19th February 2010, 01:52 AM   #3
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Just a note: not all of the WWII+ scabbards had MOP. Many just were plain wood.

With the close up pictures of the head axes, I can see the brass inlay. They may be a little older than WWII.

Don't know what to tell you about the knife.
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Old 19th February 2010, 02:14 AM   #4
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I think the Kalingas are the real prize here .

Yes, I suspect the grip wrap was probably full length .
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Old 19th February 2010, 04:08 AM   #5
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Oh sure without question a full wrap. I agree. I also agree that the Kalinga pieces like these are the best of the lot. Good Kalinga pieces are getting harder to come by. And then the provenance.........
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Old 19th February 2010, 05:42 AM   #6
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Thank you both Battara & Rick... the deal I struck with my wife was if I keep one of the Kalingas, she won't use the 2nd one on me!

I had found a similar example in the on-line catalog of the Macao Museum of Art's "Steel of Eastern Asia" exhibit dated to the 19th century:



Close-up of similar inlay:



The above example is catalog item #194 (click here for link), though the ration of height-to-length of the two I acquired appear to more closely resemble #192. But aside from the most cursory recognition of form, I know nothing regarding the evolution of design and material usage of the head axe...

So is there a developing consensus on the approximate age of both the axes and the blade on the (presumably re-hilted) kris?
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Old 19th February 2010, 04:05 PM   #7
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Again I would place both around the beginning of the 20 century.
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Old 9th March 2010, 04:50 AM   #8
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There's something beautiful about a blade like this being restored with such care, even with all the degradation that went on. In fact, i think it even adds to the aesthetic of the blade.
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