Meteoric Patrem-Made In England...

[ganjawulung]

Originally Posted by lemmythesmith

Hello to everyone!! Here's a little patrem that I've forged from Campo Del Cielo meteorite and old wrought iron with a steel core. The wrongko is thuya burl and the gandar is ebony. Ivory ukiran in the Durga/Dewa Sri/Wadon form. Mendak in sterling silver.
I used 325g of iron salvaged from Windsor Castle after the fire, 190g of Campo meteorite and 90g of Kango (jackhammer chisel) for the steel core. Pamor of 170 or so layers in a "ladder" pattern which has turned out quite reflective, got a little carried away with a complex ricikan which looking back (hindsight is always 20/20!) was a little ambitious, still, I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot too!! I think I'll steer clear of complex dapor for a while and concentrate on getting the overall shape right!! There wasn't an overall plan for this keris what you see sort of just "happened" with the constituent parts coming together because I liked the style or shape of them, hence the "hybrid" form!!

Dear Lemmy,

Really, it is worth to be included in the next Keris Ensiklopedi... I like your sogokan. Not deep, like the old jalak budo sogokan. Also very good-looking kruwingan. Where is your signature? In the form of rondha?

Ganjawulung

[lemmythesmith]

Hi all! Ganja-many thanks! A jalak budo is on my "to do" list! My signature is more on the peksi, a little stupa.....

[David]

I'm not sure if this is the best thread for this, but it does allow everyone to gawk at Lemmy's work once again.
Here is an interesting video showing the forging process of a keris. I just can't imaging how they did this before power tools.
http://kerisologi.multiply.com/video...n_Keris_bag.01

[Michel]

A long time ago, I started to forge a kris. I made several error in my forging and ended with a very small blade. To avoid wasting all my efforts, I decided to transform this heat welded blade in a kris patrem. Alan had told us : most of the work in kris forging, in not the forging but chiseling and filing. How right is he. Forging was not more than 5 to 10 % in time.
Once the blade completed (with errors !) I treated it not with acid, but with sulfur and salt and here is the result. I had to make the the necessary sarong and hulu adapted to its size. The total kris is only 23 cm long and the blade 14cm. This is also a lot of filing !
The mendak is the smallest I had in my reserves and I doubt I could find anything smaller even in Jogjakarta.
To work on such a small kris, does not make the work easy. Everything is so small that I have temporarily renounced to the small sculptures decorating the handle.
One thing is certain: my respect for the work of Alan and Lemythesmith has been multiplied by a factor.

[A. G. Maisey]

Not bad Michel, not bad at all. The first keris that I made was made before I ever took instruction from Pak Parman, and its not as good as yours.

The sulphur and salt will not stain a blade, it will only reveal topographic variation in the material. There is a non-arsenic etch that will give a blade some colour, which is sulphur and rice water. I used this a few times more than 50 years ago, but never on a new blade, only on old ones, and it worked more or less OK. I mixed the stuff to a paste and applied it to the blade, then wrapped the blade in plastic sandwich wrap. It took about a week to work.

Something that collectors of both keris and conventional knives do not appreciate or understand is that the work involved in making a good quality small blade is at least as great, possibly greater, than the work involved in making a good quality normal sized blade, and the skill level required is definitely greater. Very good quality small keris blades are frequently more expensive than very good quality normal size blades, and certainly much more scarce, but try selling them on a western market.

[lemmythesmith]

Hi Michel, well done! A nice job-I like the "topographical" effect on the blade, nice shape too. I'm nearly done with another patrem which I've opted for a gongo iras brojol. If you let me know the diameter the mendak needs to be I have made a die for patrem mendak so I can stamp them from one piece-could send you one roughed out in copper if you wish, makes life a wee bit easier The patra carvings are not easy to get looking right-my new patrem has a horn Solo hilt and that was a swine to carve, and to get symetrical(ish)

[ferrylaki]

Originally Posted by lemmythesmith

Hi Michel, well done! A nice job-I like the "topographical" effect on the blade, nice shape too. I'm nearly done with another patrem which I've opted for a gongo iras brojol. If you let me know the diameter the mendak needs to be I have made a die for patrem mendak so I can stamp them from one piece-could send you one roughed out in copper if you wish, makes life a wee bit easier The patra carvings are not easy to get looking right-my new patrem has a horn Solo hilt and that was a swine to carve, and to get symetrical(ish)

Hi Michel,
nice small keris you have there. as you mention before, the harder part of keris making is making the detail(recikan) of the keris it self. In making the greneng we often use a very small saw similar to a saw we use on playwood. it is a very time concuming in making the greneng couse the sawing it self need high concentration and skill...

the other harder part is making the sogokan. what did you use for making the sogokan? a small grinder is an option, but it very risky . we some time use a special steel chisel for the sogokan and pijitan work.

About the mendak, we still can find a very small mendak which fit for a patrem here in Jakarta. Not always available but we still can find it.
I recon your keris handle is a little bit larger for the keris. but the warangka is a very nice job...Love your warangka...very nive job, congratulation on your patrem. Let us know if you dicide to make another keris.

Good day,
FERRYLAKI
JAkarta