The basics of keris understanding?

[A. G. Maisey]

David, I'm not being harsh, I'm being gentle and accommodating.

I did close an earlier post with this:-

"---Quality is most certainly a very important factor in the appraisal of a keris, so, as a place to begin discussion, perhaps some of you may care to nominate those characteristics of a keris that for you speak of its quality."

Which was intended to get some sort of input so that we could explore possibilities and open discussion.

Yes, certainly I could simply put up what I've learnt, but that then becomes a lecture, not a discussion. Do we want "The World of the Keris According to Maisey"?

I think not. At least, I'm not prepared to simply put up endless posts setting forth the way I see things.

It becomes a different exercise entirely if various people nominate their own opinions, and we then contrast those opinions with the opinions of my teachers, and with my own. In any case, its not necessarily a Jawacentric set of values. There are a number of people here who are based in Singapore and Malaysia. These are areas closer to keris culture than anywhere in the western world. Their ideas and opinions can provide valuable contributions.

The idea is to attempt some sort of overall understanding, not just an understanding of one facet, taken from one perspective.