Metuk (Iras) as an indicator of quality

[A. G. Maisey]

Thanks mate.

Objectively, my work is quite plain, but in just a couple of areas I did achieve very close to perfection.

However, the thing I am pretty pleased with is this:- except for the blade I made under the supervision of Empu Suparman, and for which we used a blacksmith in the welding, although I worked as striker for that keris, all of the other keris I both forged --- by myself, without the assistance of a striker --- and carved using traditional tools, not electric grinders. Additionally, all my blades have been properly heat treated, which is something that very keris makers of the current era can claim.

I set out to learn how to make keris, not to become a maker of keris, but rather to better understand the keris.

Along the way I also made a lot of mechanical damascus, I made a few blades of welded cable, and a few other nondescript blades using sanmai construction.

[Kulino]

Nice to read the elaborations. I would like to post some of the tumbak again and continue the discussion. As far as I can see, metuk iras could be connected to age and quality.
Looking at the two tumbaks posted, the one with metuk iras appears to be of finer quality then the one with separate metuk.
Is this a correct assumption?
And then there is the tumbak without metuk. Missing of intended to go without? What could be said of the quality/age?

[kai]

Hello Kulino,

Looking at the two tumbaks posted, the one with metuk iras appears to be of finer quality then the one with separate metuk.

I'd love to hear Alan's take on your examples! I still suck at "reading" tombak blades and often enough have problems to establish from which island/culture they originate from...

Thus, do take my comments with a lump of salt:
All 4 seem to be nice examples with above average quality; I believe that the one without metuk once had one (no clear indications from the pesi though).

Based on the metuk of the 2 above, I'd agree that the iras example is of higher quality. I'm less sure about the blade/pamor quality though.

Regards,
Kai

[Kulino]

Hello Kai,
I checked the correspondence I had some thirty year ago with Peter van Hien the grandson of the writer of De Javaansche Geestenwereld. ( The Javanese world of spirits- 1896), https://archive.org/details/dejavaanschegee01hiengoog ) considered him an ahli keris. His grandfather had trained him in the kejawen way. At that time he was, as an abdi dalem, in close contact with Yogja kraton perawat keris. When I asked him about the kinatah keris he replied among others with a quote of the Babad Tanah Jawi (I tried to re trace the quote but couldn’t find it in my translated copy…. https://serbasejarah.files.wordpress...anah-djawi.pdf):
‘During Mataram time golden ricikan were applied on the ganja indicating status, for panewu mantri lions and elephants, for princes and patih dalam there were orchids.’
He mentions more like ricikan: for wedana kaliwon, lunglungan and ron-ron-an… but it is sometimes hard to decipher his handwriting. (Mind you, this was before the computer age )
Looking at this quote, the orchids on both tumbak should point at a decent quality.

I’m not sure the tumbak without metuk once had one. Looking at the spine of the blade, the diameter simply doesn’t allow for anything circular to be placed at the pesi without sticking out dramatically. But a tombak without anything like a metuk?

Best,
Kulino

[Ian]

For some reason we ended up with two threads on this topic. The two have now been merged into this one. Apologies to the contributors to this discussion for any confusion.

Ian

[David]

Thanks Ian!

[Kulino]

Indeed,
Thanks and for next, Happy New Year!

Kulino