Planning to make a wrongko

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Gustav, they might well be Sulawesi, frankly, I cannot with any certainty distinguish between any of the Bugis scabbard styles. If I look at the Ahmad Ubbe book I see a great variety of styles that have all been identified as "South Sulawesi", or "South Sulawesi + (some other location)" and all given the name of "jonga-jonga". This great variety of styles includes scabbards that I cannot distinguish from the one that you have shown us.

The overall style of all the scabbards that Ahmad Ubbe shows is very similar, but whereas the indented line that on your scabbard tilts in, and on my scabbards is more or less parallel with the rear edge of the gambar, on Ahmad Ubbe's examples is subject to variation in both angle and style.

I would be the first to admit that I have never done any in depth study of Bugis-style keris. I have never visited the Bugis cultural areas, I have never done field research on any keris except Javanese, Madurese and Balinese, so I do not hold any firm opinions on anything to do with Bugis-style keris. I do know as personal friends, several Bugis people, and they have family keris (which again show a range of stylistic variation) but regrettably they know nothing at all about keris.

Because of my lack of knowledge in this regard, I find it somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to give a precise geographic point of origin for any Bugis style keris.

If I look at the keris shown in Ahmad Ubbe's book, what I see are keris that have been identified by acknowledged authorities in the field of Bugis keris study, as "South Sulawesi", yet those keris vary across the entire span of Bugis-style keris. I am only talking about the keris here, that is, the blade alone, not the dress.

I really do envy those people who can give a precise geographic point of origin for a Bugis-style keris and its dress.

[Johan van Zyl]

More progress has been made (see two pics). The project still looks ugly in its lack of completion, but I hope to remedy that as well as possible with painstaking work. I know that I am not able to live up to the high standards you all have brought forward in your advice and pictures for my benefit, but I think you will come to realise that it was not possible for the likes of me (not an experienced carver, not having a real scabbard to copy) to deliver a product even remotely equal to a true Bugis keris wrongko. For starters, the wood does not even come close to timoho or kemuning. But I know that I am doing what I can and learning all the way. Please note that the the gambar I am wresting from the unyielding wood has got a mind of its own, and although I frequently compare my work to your pics, it is turning out somewhat different! Please forgive me.

[kai]

Hello Johan,

No worries, I'm confident it will look much better, finally!

What you are experiencing is the "spirit of the wood" and an experienced carver would take this into account when selecting and during carving wood. Just try to go with the flow as best as you can...

The upturned stern still needs quite some wood to be removed and also the whole piece could become more thinner, especially just right of the socket for the stem. I'd also make the notch on the left less substantial (if you compare it to the examples, this does run almost the whole length and is fairly shallow groove).

Tropical hardwoods tend to have very large pores and it will be wise to fill them before the final polishing steps. Any surface treatment (boiled linseed oil, shellac, wax) will make the wood looking much nicer than in its current raw state! Is the crosspiece teak?

BTW, don't forget to wear a mask to avoid wood dust (many timbers are proven or suspected to be carcinogenic).

Regards,
Kai

[A. G. Maisey]

Try scrapers and coarse garnet/sand paper Johan, and work in the same direction as the grain. Never work against the grain and keep working across the grain to an absolute bare minimum.

Using a scraper you can model a piece of wood --- or steel for that matter --- a very little bit at a time, and with minimum effort. For detail work with a scraper you can grind a radius onto the end of an old three sided file, this sort of scraper is very useful to get into corners.

It is best to work with the paper by itself, that is, without a rubbing stick or block, at this point in the job. Fold the paper in three so that there is one rough surface against the back of the paper, this prevents the folded paper from moving around. Don't use wet&dry paper, use either genuine garnet paper (which might be difficult to get hold of), or one of the newer coloured sand papers, if I were doing this job I'd probably be using 60/80/100 grit at this point.

[Johan van Zyl]

Once again, excellent advice and hints, and I will investigate & follow them for sure! Things are getting hairy now, and impatient me must be very careful to not upset the project with hasty work. Thank you!