Keris with pesi repair?

mrwizard · 24th February 2011, 10:25 PM

Today i want to share a keris that i bought a few months ago. From my (very) limited knowledge i would classify its dapur as Sengkelat and the (rather battered) warangka as Ladrang Kadipaten of Solo origin. I can't make out any distinctive form of pamor but maybe the keris just needs restaining.

The thing that puzzles me is the area right above the pesi. It looks like someone sawed of a dove-tail shaped piece and replaced the pesi and possibly the ganya. Strangely the replaced dovetail-shape has the same color as the rest of the keris while the ganya seems to be slightly darker.

What do you think? Old repair or original manufacturing technique?

danny1976 · 24th February 2011, 10:49 PM

Hi Mr Wizzard,

Nice keris , so far i can see on the photo it is indeed a repair of the peksi.

Regards,

Danny

sirek · 25th February 2011, 05:44 PM

One of my keris has a same little square and I have also wondered what it could be?

-a part of the forging process?,
-is it talismanic (adding metal of spiritual value)
-or a previous type of tang/pesi repair

Wondering if anyone knows the meaning of it, and this is often done.

Sajen · 25th February 2011, 06:52 PM

Hello Mrwizard, I think that this is indeed a peksi repair but I have never seen it by keris from Indonesia but by kris from the Philippines. Look for example here:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4743

And I think that there will come out pamor after a new staining/warangan.

Regards,

Detlef

mrwizard · 1st March 2011, 10:47 PM

Thanks for all the input and the pictures of other samples.
The repairs look almost exactly like the repair on my blade.

This seams to be a common technique to repair a
broken peksi. In fact it must have been so common the technique was also applied to moro kris.
The latter is rather surprising (or at least to me) as the Moro kris is primarily a slashing weapon. The forces on the tang area must be immense and i wouldn't trust my life on a repair like this -- even if the smith is a master on fire-welding as the keris and kris makers doubtlessly are.

Here is how i think the repair process looked like
1. soft annealing of the blade
2. cutting a rectangular piece from the broken peksi tang area
3. forging a replacement peksi with tight fitting rectangular top -- ideally using material from the old ganja.
4. fire-welding the parts together. Even if the old smiths had a flux like borax this would be very difficult as hammering on the interface would certainly lead to deformations.
4. Hardening & annealing the blade
5. Refinishing the the now surely oxidised surface of the blade

I'm am sure after refinishing the blade must look like new. The rectangular areas we see, appear after several etchings and mostly because there is some oxide on the interface indicating an imperfect weld. This might be okay for a stabbing weapon like a keris but not for a kris.

If i would repair a broken tang on a kris it would probably look like the kris in this thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11663

Edit: or like this
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...2&postcount=14

Please correct me if you think i am wrong...

Best Regards,
Thilo

A. G. Maisey · 1st March 2011, 11:12 PM

I have seen this in a number of Javanese blades.

I have also seen at least one blade where the tang was inserted into the blade base, and erosion had exposed part of the tang; I have also seen a very old blade where the tang had been inserted into the blade base and it is now loose. These two examples are in my possession, but I have not seen them for a while, and I do not know precisely where they are. In both these blades the tang material appears to be the same as the blade material.

I am not altogether certain that these methods of fixing a tang to the blade are repairs. I strongly suspect that these tangs were fixed in this way at the time the blade was made.

When a blade was made in accordance with traditional requirements, it was made to a specific formula which involved length as well as mid blade width. There are a number of ways to approach this creation of a numeric value attached to the blade, but the blade value always needs to be balanced to the requirement for the person the blade was made for.

I do not know, but I strongly suspect that this method of tang fixing was used when material in the forging from which the blade was made, was insufficient to permit a tang to be forged from that forging. In an ideal world, this would, of course, not occur, but in virtually all human endeavour there is an economic bottom line.

There are a number of ways to repair a broken keris tang, all of them much more simple, much more cost effective, and much stronger than this inlet method of fixing a tang.

24th February 2011, 10:25 PM	#1
mrwizard Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 102	Keris with pesi repair? Today i want to share a keris that i bought a few months ago. From my (very) limited knowledge i would classify its dapur as Sengkelat and the (rather battered) warangka as Ladrang Kadipaten of Solo origin. I can't make out any distinctive form of pamor but maybe the keris just needs restaining. The thing that puzzles me is the area right above the pesi. It looks like someone sawed of a dove-tail shaped piece and replaced the pesi and possibly the ganya. Strangely the replaced dovetail-shape has the same color as the rest of the keris while the ganya seems to be slightly darker. What do you think? Old repair or original manufacturing technique? Attached Images

25th February 2011, 05:44 PM	#3
sirek Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 169	One of my keris has a same little square and I have also wondered what it could be? -a part of the forging process?, -is it talismanic (adding metal of spiritual value) -or a previous type of tang/pesi repair Wondering if anyone knows the meaning of it, and this is often done. Attached Images

1st March 2011, 10:47 PM	#5
mrwizard Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 102	Thanks for all the input and the pictures of other samples. The repairs look almost exactly like the repair on my blade. This seams to be a common technique to repair a broken peksi. In fact it must have been so common the technique was also applied to moro kris. The latter is rather surprising (or at least to me) as the Moro kris is primarily a slashing weapon. The forces on the tang area must be immense and i wouldn't trust my life on a repair like this -- even if the smith is a master on fire-welding as the keris and kris makers doubtlessly are. Here is how i think the repair process looked like 1. soft annealing of the blade 2. cutting a rectangular piece from the broken peksi tang area 3. forging a replacement peksi with tight fitting rectangular top -- ideally using material from the old ganja. 4. fire-welding the parts together. Even if the old smiths had a flux like borax this would be very difficult as hammering on the interface would certainly lead to deformations. 4. Hardening & annealing the blade 5. Refinishing the the now surely oxidised surface of the blade I'm am sure after refinishing the blade must look like new. The rectangular areas we see, appear after several etchings and mostly because there is some oxide on the interface indicating an imperfect weld. This might be okay for a stabbing weapon like a keris but not for a kris. If i would repair a broken tang on a kris it would probably look like the kris in this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11663 Edit: or like this http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...2&postcount=14 Please correct me if you think i am wrong... Best Regards, Thilo Last edited by mrwizard; 1st March 2011 at 11:01 PM. Reason: found the repair example i was looking for

24th February 2011, 10:49 PM	#2
danny1976 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Holland Posts: 245	Hi Mr Wizzard, Nice keris , so far i can see on the photo it is indeed a repair of the peksi. Regards, Danny

25th February 2011, 06:52 PM	#4
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,727	Hello Mrwizard, I think that this is indeed a peksi repair but I have never seen it by keris from Indonesia but by kris from the Philippines. Look for example here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4743 And I think that there will come out pamor after a new staining/warangan. Regards, Detlef

1st March 2011, 11:12 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,852	I have seen this in a number of Javanese blades. I have also seen at least one blade where the tang was inserted into the blade base, and erosion had exposed part of the tang; I have also seen a very old blade where the tang had been inserted into the blade base and it is now loose. These two examples are in my possession, but I have not seen them for a while, and I do not know precisely where they are. In both these blades the tang material appears to be the same as the blade material. I am not altogether certain that these methods of fixing a tang to the blade are repairs. I strongly suspect that these tangs were fixed in this way at the time the blade was made. When a blade was made in accordance with traditional requirements, it was made to a specific formula which involved length as well as mid blade width. There are a number of ways to approach this creation of a numeric value attached to the blade, but the blade value always needs to be balanced to the requirement for the person the blade was made for. I do not know, but I strongly suspect that this method of tang fixing was used when material in the forging from which the blade was made, was insufficient to permit a tang to be forged from that forging. In an ideal world, this would, of course, not occur, but in virtually all human endeavour there is an economic bottom line. There are a number of ways to repair a broken keris tang, all of them much more simple, much more cost effective, and much stronger than this inlet method of fixing a tang.