An unusual blade

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Jean

The blade has apparently no pamor pattern(?) and it does not clearly look Bugis to me (but Bugis influenced). I never saw a similar blade identified as Sumatran but who knows?
Best regards

Hi Jean,

Have you ever seen a similar blade with these features?

I have not treated the blade in any way buy there could be something subtle in the blade when I give consideration to its typical layered gonjo.
Under a bright light there holds some potential throughout the blades surfaces, but nothing in the traditional pamor sense, but certainly a clear differential heat treatment that I cannot capture with the camera...

With regards to pamor and this blade; the single open line running the length of one face only (the image presented) can be considered a pamor. With reference to Newbold's work and other keris I have seen and own, this occurrence could be considered as pamor tiga alif, an occurrence which I doubt is random as I do not believe random was ever the desire in any keris forging.

I've another very large old sepakol blade with a rather mono-steel looking blade but three perfectly spaced and placed openings in one face only, (the same face as this keris I present above) and in the same open manner, albiet more precise in the other keris...it is Alif pamor.

Gavin