OLD OR JUNK?

A. G. Maisey · 6th May 2007, 12:01 AM

Brekele, I think you may be confusing me with somebody else.

I do not sit meditating in a cave, and your reference in the other thread which you have running at the moment, to a westerner conversing with Lombok dealers at some time in the past was most certainly not a reference to me.

Yes, I have used meditation as a tool for virtually my entire life, at least for as far back as I can remember, but I do not isolate myself to meditate.

I thank you for your compliment that I know the field of keris, however, my knowledge of keris in general is very slight. I have some small and very limited understanding of certain aspects of the keris, but these aspects are almost never touched upon in discussion in this, or any other forum, or which I am aware. The comments that I usually make in this forum are simply the repetition of either published information, or general knowledge within the Javanese keris community. Definitely nothing special, nor necessarily a reflection of my personal views..

Regarding the difference in the material used in gonjos to that used in blades.

I have no opinion on this.

However, generally accepted belief in Jawa is that there are a number of possible reasons:-

in an old keris, it could be to replace a lost or damaged gonjo, or it could be to replace a gonjo used in the manufacture of a keris intended as the "son" of the original keris; a gonjo without pamor could also have been used to conceal the pamor used in the blade, as a measure of protection for the owner.

In a recently made keris it could be to give the impression that the keris is older than it may appear to be.

In both old and recent keris it could be because the maker ran short of the same material as used in the blade, or forgot to cut off sufficient for the gonjo from the forging before welding in the core.

A number of possible reasons, and no way of knowing exactly why the gonjo material may differ from the blade material in any specific blade.

6th May 2007, 12:01 AM	#31
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,876	Brekele, I think you may be confusing me with somebody else. I do not sit meditating in a cave, and your reference in the other thread which you have running at the moment, to a westerner conversing with Lombok dealers at some time in the past was most certainly not a reference to me. Yes, I have used meditation as a tool for virtually my entire life, at least for as far back as I can remember, but I do not isolate myself to meditate. I thank you for your compliment that I know the field of keris, however, my knowledge of keris in general is very slight. I have some small and very limited understanding of certain aspects of the keris, but these aspects are almost never touched upon in discussion in this, or any other forum, or which I am aware. The comments that I usually make in this forum are simply the repetition of either published information, or general knowledge within the Javanese keris community. Definitely nothing special, nor necessarily a reflection of my personal views.. Regarding the difference in the material used in gonjos to that used in blades. I have no opinion on this. However, generally accepted belief in Jawa is that there are a number of possible reasons:- in an old keris, it could be to replace a lost or damaged gonjo, or it could be to replace a gonjo used in the manufacture of a keris intended as the "son" of the original keris; a gonjo without pamor could also have been used to conceal the pamor used in the blade, as a measure of protection for the owner. In a recently made keris it could be to give the impression that the keris is older than it may appear to be. In both old and recent keris it could be because the maker ran short of the same material as used in the blade, or forgot to cut off sufficient for the gonjo from the forging before welding in the core. A number of possible reasons, and no way of knowing exactly why the gonjo material may differ from the blade material in any specific blade.