keris made by empu(forged) and keris made from moulding

[David]

Originally Posted by GIO

Yes, the molding lines are clearly visible. But I am asking myself: is this method really convenient (in terms of cost) if compared with a copy made by any village Smith ? I think that melting iron is not so easy and requires a lot of heat and consequently money.
Of course a mass production would cut down cost, but is this the case ?
Would it be convenient to spend some time and eliminate the molding lines with a file and try to sell the fake as an original ?
If we follow this thread it is legitimate to ask ourselves a question: are all sajen, buda and pichit kerises original ?

I think it is fairly safe to say Gio that indeed many sajen and picit keris and especially keris buda are not "original", if by that you mean old. However, i would think the the bulk of recently manufactured sajen, picit and buda keris are intact forged, not cast.
As far as costs, creating a keris like the buda above from a mold is far less time consuming than actually forging it. Yes, more heat is required to create molten iron, but i think the time and effort saved more than makes up for the extra heat necessary to melt the metal down. I could be wrong, but that's the way i see it.
I suppose that someone could spend a little extra time and file down the seams to make these cast keris seem more legitimate. It would make them harder to detect i suppose. But i also think there are other clues beyond the seams that would out such a blade.