Cleaning and polishing my bali-keris

David · 21st January 2010, 03:39 PM

Hmmm....i don't think your hilt is ivory, or very old for that matter. It might be bone, but it is hard to tell with all the gunk they painted onto it to give it the appearance of age. I generally clean up ivory and bone pieces with a toothbrush and a little bit of mineral oil, but since i don't know the natural of the applied black stuff i don't know what you might need to remove it.
I suspect that your blade is also contemporary and as such it's origins are more likely Madura than Bali, though this is still a "Bali-style" keris. As for whether it should be called a patrem or not, how long is the blade? I am not sure if there is any hard and fast rules for this, but i usually count blades under 10" as possible patrems.

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21st January 2010, 03:39 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,218	Hmmm....i don't think your hilt is ivory, or very old for that matter. It might be bone, but it is hard to tell with all the gunk they painted onto it to give it the appearance of age. I generally clean up ivory and bone pieces with a toothbrush and a little bit of mineral oil, but since i don't know the natural of the applied black stuff i don't know what you might need to remove it. I suspect that your blade is also contemporary and as such it's origins are more likely Madura than Bali, though this is still a "Bali-style" keris. As for whether it should be called a patrem or not, how long is the blade? I am not sure if there is any hard and fast rules for this, but i usually count blades under 10" as possible patrems.