should I or shouldn't I change and repair

Green · 16th February 2018, 06:09 AM

Recently I acquired several kerises that were originally belonged to Edward Frey and featured in his book The Kris : Mystic Weapon of the Malay World.

One of these was obviously with a wrong dress combination . Tajong hilt with not the usual tajong type scabbard but typical Malay scabbard suited to Jawa demam hilt. There was a little chip on the tip of the 'nose' of the hilt too.

My questions are:

(1) Since these items can be considered 'historical' as they are featured in a well known book should I correct this mistake?

either by finding an old tajong scabbard ( quite possible for me to do as I live in Keris making community in Malaysia) or take off the tajong hilt and replace with more suitable ones (eg Jawa Demam or Patah tiga )?

(2) I can get some keris maker to repair the chipped hilt. Should I do this or leave it alone?

What is the usual acceptable thing to do in this situation. On the one hand I like to preserve the item in it's original state, but on the other I feel it should be restored correctly.

sorry for the very bad pics

16th February 2018, 06:09 AM	#1
Green Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Malaysia Posts: 312	should I or shouldn't I change and repair Recently I acquired several kerises that were originally belonged to Edward Frey and featured in his book The Kris : Mystic Weapon of the Malay World. One of these was obviously with a wrong dress combination . Tajong hilt with not the usual tajong type scabbard but typical Malay scabbard suited to Jawa demam hilt. There was a little chip on the tip of the 'nose' of the hilt too. My questions are: (1) Since these items can be considered 'historical' as they are featured in a well known book should I correct this mistake? either by finding an old tajong scabbard ( quite possible for me to do as I live in Keris making community in Malaysia) or take off the tajong hilt and replace with more suitable ones (eg Jawa Demam or Patah tiga )? (2) I can get some keris maker to repair the chipped hilt. Should I do this or leave it alone? What is the usual acceptable thing to do in this situation. On the one hand I like to preserve the item in it's original state, but on the other I feel it should be restored correctly. sorry for the very bad pics Attached Images