Keris or not?

HughChen · 5th October 2024, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milandro

I don't think it is a prerogative of a 5 luk kris being Ganja Iras. Any kris straight or with luk may or may not be created without a Ganja.

here there is a thread with some info on this

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=Gonjo+Iras

Thank you Milandro, it seems that no conclusion has been made about why gonjo iras exists.

A. G. Maisey · 5th October 2024, 10:21 PM

Perhaps no general conclusion, but my own conclusion is very simple:- money.

Smiths work for a living.

The cheaper one makes something, the cheaper one can sell it, the more sales that can be made.

There is a real lot of very careful, demanding work in making a gonjo and achieving a satisfactory fit.

There is much less work in punching a straight line.

Less time, less work, less fuel.

HughChen · 9th October 2024, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Perhaps no general conclusion, but my own conclusion is very simple:- money.

Smiths work for a living.

The cheaper one makes something, the cheaper one can sell it, the more sales that can be made.

There is a real lot of very careful, demanding work in making a gonjo and achieving a satisfactory fit.

There is much less work in punching a straight line.

Less time, less work, less fuel.

Alan, Why the gonjo of keris is asymmetrical，and why keris as a double-edged sword is asymmetrical? Most swords have something like a GonJo like Tsuba. But they are symmetrical even in curved single-edged swords or knifes.

milandro · 9th October 2024, 08:32 AM

perhaps here you find some of the answers to your questions

http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/maisey/

the shape of the kris contains both symbolic and practical elements

A. G. Maisey · 9th October 2024, 09:23 AM

That "Origin" paper is pretty old, the core of it, I think I can still support, but it really needs to be rechurned.

Hugh, the simple answer to your question is that I do not know why most keris are asymmetrical. We can hypothesise, but perhaps that's the best we can do. I think its probably a "form follows function" thing, given the original form of the archaic keris, & the way it was used. But we really have no certainty.

5th October 2024, 10:21 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	Perhaps no general conclusion, but my own conclusion is very simple:- money. Smiths work for a living. The cheaper one makes something, the cheaper one can sell it, the more sales that can be made. There is a real lot of very careful, demanding work in making a gonjo and achieving a satisfactory fit. There is much less work in punching a straight line. Less time, less work, less fuel.

9th October 2024, 08:32 AM	#4
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 476	perhaps here you find some of the answers to your questions http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/maisey/ the shape of the kris contains both symbolic and practical elements

9th October 2024, 09:23 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	That "Origin" paper is pretty old, the core of it, I think I can still support, but it really needs to be rechurned. Hugh, the simple answer to your question is that I do not know why most keris are asymmetrical. We can hypothesise, but perhaps that's the best we can do. I think its probably a "form follows function" thing, given the original form of the archaic keris, & the way it was used. But we really have no certainty.