Birthday present for my keris.

kronckew · 8th July 2008, 05:51 PM

as his birthday is coming up, i thought i'd buy him a present
new hilt installed, old one alongside for comparison.

he may not be as fancy or as old as some of y'alls, but he's my only real keris, so i pamper him...

i'm sure he'll prefer it to the more crudely done original.

next time he'll get a bit of jewellery for his mendak.

David · 8th July 2008, 08:24 PM

That is indeed a nice thought, though in this case i think it works both ways as a gift, kinda like buying you wife a lacey black neglige.

I think this hilt looks fine, certainly better than the original, though you should show it in the sheath because the hilt really needs to look best with that as together they are the outer wear clothing of the keris and that will tell us more as to the "correctness" of your choice.
I wouldn't personally change out the mendak just to put some fancy bejewelled one there as you don't necessarily want to out shine the keris itself with it's fittings. You might want to consider the keris itself first, the level of quality that it is, the level of wealth that an owner of such a keris might have, before you make any changes.

kronckew · 8th July 2008, 10:35 PM

this was the original dress:

i had a look at some other mendak, i think that it's current one is fine, the ones i saw, as you said are a bit gaudy.

ganjawulung · 9th July 2008, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

as his birthday is coming up, i thought i'd buy him a present
new hilt installed, old one alongside for comparison.

he may not be as fancy or as old as some of y'alls, but he's my only real keris, so i pamper him...

The new hilt is better, Kronckew. Both are Madura-type hilts, or Madurese usually call them as "landeyan" hilt (landeyan, in Javanese term has a different meaning. Javanese landeyan, is a long wooden-holder for tombak or traditional spear...)

The original sheath is also a Madura warangka, "daunan" type of sheath. Daunan, is similar to "ladrang" in Solo or Surakarta style, or "branggah" for Jogja style.

The pamor of your keris, we call it as "tritikan" (zigzag near the edge, with beras wutah or wos wutah pamor inside the zigzag lines...)

kronckew · 9th July 2008, 05:39 AM

thanks for the additional info, so many different terms to learn.

one should always keep learning

keeps my brain from going soft.

asomotif · 9th July 2008, 08:49 AM

Lovely pamor on this keris

The new hilt is indeed much better.

Personally I like silver for a mendak, like on this old hilt I recently found.
It is a bit of luxury that can be very simple.
(no stones on a madurese keris IMHO)

Rick · 9th July 2008, 04:48 PM

That is a Madurese mendak; correct ?
It shares the same shape as this one .
Sorry for the harsh lighting .

Rick · 9th July 2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

thanks for the additional info, so many different terms to learn.

one should always keep learning

keeps my brain from going soft.

Perhaps the next gift for your keris should be a nice Madura mendak .
I think the one on it now is Javanese .

Lovely handle .

A. G. Maisey · 9th July 2008, 11:20 PM

Recent Madura mendak are not easy to find. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen one. That means you need to get hold of an old Madura mendak. There are not a lot of old Madura mendak in the market-place, and most of what are seen are silver.This means that the Madura mendak for this hilt could cost as much as the hilt. I reckon the mendak that is already on it is quite OK.

ganjawulung · 10th July 2008, 05:57 AM

These are just examples on Madura and East Jawa mendhaks. I think they fit for Madurese hilts...

8th July 2008, 05:51 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,169	Birthday present for my keris. as his birthday is coming up, i thought i'd buy him a present new hilt installed, old one alongside for comparison. he may not be as fancy or as old as some of y'alls, but he's my only real keris, so i pamper him... i'm sure he'll prefer it to the more crudely done original. next time he'll get a bit of jewellery for his mendak.

9th July 2008, 08:49 AM	#6
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,224	Lovely pamor on this keris The new hilt is indeed much better. Personally I like silver for a mendak, like on this old hilt I recently found. It is a bit of luxury that can be very simple. (no stones on a madurese keris IMHO) Attached Images

9th July 2008, 04:48 PM	#7
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,287	That is a Madurese mendak; correct ? It shares the same shape as this one . Sorry for the harsh lighting . Attached Images

10th July 2008, 05:57 AM	#10
ganjawulung Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: J a k a r t a Posts: 991	These are just examples on Madura and East Jawa mendhaks. I think they fit for Madurese hilts... Attached Images

8th July 2008, 08:24 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,101	That is indeed a nice thought, though in this case i think it works both ways as a gift, kinda like buying you wife a lacey black neglige. I think this hilt looks fine, certainly better than the original, though you should show it in the sheath because the hilt really needs to look best with that as together they are the outer wear clothing of the keris and that will tell us more as to the "correctness" of your choice. I wouldn't personally change out the mendak just to put some fancy bejewelled one there as you don't necessarily want to out shine the keris itself with it's fittings. You might want to consider the keris itself first, the level of quality that it is, the level of wealth that an owner of such a keris might have, before you make any changes.

8th July 2008, 10:35 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,169	this was the original dress: i had a look at some other mendak, i think that it's current one is fine, the ones i saw, as you said are a bit gaudy.

9th July 2008, 05:39 AM	#5
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,169	thanks for the additional info, so many different terms to learn. one should always keep learning keeps my brain from going soft.

9th July 2008, 11:20 PM	#9
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,857	Recent Madura mendak are not easy to find. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen one. That means you need to get hold of an old Madura mendak. There are not a lot of old Madura mendak in the market-place, and most of what are seen are silver.This means that the Madura mendak for this hilt could cost as much as the hilt. I reckon the mendak that is already on it is quite OK.