Bali keris hilt - to glue or thread?

[nechesh]

Gee Ariel, why don't you tell us what you really think about us "Kris people". I trust this was not meant with any derogatory intention. No offense taken.
Marto is, of course, right. Other more "fixed" methods of hilt attachment have been used. I had always heard of pitch being used. Is that the same stuff as the damar you mention Marto? Certainly it would make sense that any keris that might end up being used martially would need to have a well adhered handle to be at all useful. But as Marto points out, these other materials used are not nearly as permanent as epoxy of the dreaded Crazy Glue. Just heat and gentle manipulation will free the blade.
The keris seems a fairly unique weapon (in many ways really) in that the removal and changability of many of it's parts (hilt, mendak, wrongko) are actually a part of the culture surrounding the blade, whether to signify some reward or added prominence in life or the changing of hands from one owner to the next. And as Henk points out, regular cleansing ceromonies require the blade be removed from the hilt.
Wow, i actually got through this entire post without using a horror icon! ........damn!