Over cleaning the keris blade?

A. G. Maisey · 2nd July 2015, 08:50 PM

I have handled a number of blades that were made by Surakarta Keraton pandai keris & empus during the late 19th century and early 20th century. These blades were held in a Keraton store-room and had never been used.

All were polished smooth.

In the museum attached to the Keraton Surakarta there are a few old keris on display. Some have polished blades.

I have also handled a number of keris which entered Europe pre-1700. All were polished smooth.

When I was taught how to make keris by Empu Suparman I was instructed to do the final polish with a paste made from dust of ground terra-cotta and water, using a piece of coconut husk as a rubber. Once the final polish had been completed I had the option of treating with a compound to produce an aged finish, or leaving as it was in a polished state.

Today, most Javanese people prefer a slightly aged finish on even a brand new keris.

My feeling is that this practice of producing an aged, slightly roughened finish is a comparatively recent tendency, possibly not more than a couple of hundred years old at most. I feel that in the distant past, blades would have been polished clean and then re-stained, rather than being acid cleaned before re-staining.

Green · 3rd July 2015, 07:54 AM

I agree with Maisey that these days empus/pandai besi tend to make keris with 'aged' look. I just came back from visiting a pandai besi in Kelantan (North east of Peninsula Malaysia about 20 km from Southern Thailand border/Patani) and the new kerises that he make look like antique ones to my untrained eyes.

He even claimed that even keris experts can not distinguish between old and new kerises that he made. When I inform him about mine which I feel overcleaned he mentioned that he could easily turn that into 'aged' look by a process of immersing into some kind of acid(?) solution. FYI , I did not take his offer.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

2nd July 2015, 08:50 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,211	I have handled a number of blades that were made by Surakarta Keraton pandai keris & empus during the late 19th century and early 20th century. These blades were held in a Keraton store-room and had never been used. All were polished smooth. In the museum attached to the Keraton Surakarta there are a few old keris on display. Some have polished blades. I have also handled a number of keris which entered Europe pre-1700. All were polished smooth. When I was taught how to make keris by Empu Suparman I was instructed to do the final polish with a paste made from dust of ground terra-cotta and water, using a piece of coconut husk as a rubber. Once the final polish had been completed I had the option of treating with a compound to produce an aged finish, or leaving as it was in a polished state. Today, most Javanese people prefer a slightly aged finish on even a brand new keris. My feeling is that this practice of producing an aged, slightly roughened finish is a comparatively recent tendency, possibly not more than a couple of hundred years old at most. I feel that in the distant past, blades would have been polished clean and then re-stained, rather than being acid cleaned before re-staining.

3rd July 2015, 07:54 AM	#2
Green Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Malaysia Posts: 328	I agree with Maisey that these days empus/pandai besi tend to make keris with 'aged' look. I just came back from visiting a pandai besi in Kelantan (North east of Peninsula Malaysia about 20 km from Southern Thailand border/Patani) and the new kerises that he make look like antique ones to my untrained eyes. He even claimed that even keris experts can not distinguish between old and new kerises that he made. When I inform him about mine which I feel overcleaned he mentioned that he could easily turn that into 'aged' look by a process of immersing into some kind of acid(?) solution. FYI , I did not take his offer.