A Question About Gonjos

A. G. Maisey · 9th October 2006, 06:23 AM

There are perhaps as many answers to this question as there are keris which display this feature.

In the two keris that Rick has shown, I would suggest that perhaps we are looking at two different cases with different causes.
In the first there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are looking at the effects of time.
Plain, simple erosion.

In the second, what I can see is a pretty substantial gonjo that does not display an unusual amount of erosion, moreover it is a fairly recent keris.

Possibly this gonjo was not very carefully fitted in the first place.

It does take a lot of time and effort to achieve a tight, neat fit of gonjo to blade, and if a keris being made to a price, the maker is not going to waste time on something that will not recompense him at an adequate rate for time spent.

This gonjo has probably been fitted by the gonjo around the pesi being punched . I feel that a key in keyway fitting would not have been used, and even if it were, I believe there would be evidence of the gonjo hole being tightened by punching. When the gonjo was punched down, any imperfect fitting would show up by the gonjo lifting away from the blade. Another possibility would be that the tip of the gonjo has been subjected to force.

If this second keris belonged to me, and this opening bothered me, I would apply gentle heat to the gonjo with a propane torch, and tap it down to fit.

Yes, heat could cause a gonjo to distort, but how and when would this heat be applied?
When a blade is heat treated, the gonjo is not subjected to any heat at all.Gonjos are not welded into place, they are mechanically fixed.

Long term deflection, caused by the weight of the blade being suspended by the gonjo?

Perhaps some of our engineers could supply the figures that would tell us what sort of deflection we could expect and over what time period, taking into account such factors as the time that the blade was actually freely suspended, temperature variation, relief of stress when the blade was not suspended , or was withdrawn from the scabbard.

I am not saying that long term deflection could not occur, but I rather suspect that requirements for any noticeable amount of deflection to occur might be so extreme as to completely remove this cause from consideration.

9th October 2006, 06:23 AM	#10
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,857	There are perhaps as many answers to this question as there are keris which display this feature. In the two keris that Rick has shown, I would suggest that perhaps we are looking at two different cases with different causes. In the first there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are looking at the effects of time. Plain, simple erosion. In the second, what I can see is a pretty substantial gonjo that does not display an unusual amount of erosion, moreover it is a fairly recent keris. Possibly this gonjo was not very carefully fitted in the first place. It does take a lot of time and effort to achieve a tight, neat fit of gonjo to blade, and if a keris being made to a price, the maker is not going to waste time on something that will not recompense him at an adequate rate for time spent. This gonjo has probably been fitted by the gonjo around the pesi being punched . I feel that a key in keyway fitting would not have been used, and even if it were, I believe there would be evidence of the gonjo hole being tightened by punching. When the gonjo was punched down, any imperfect fitting would show up by the gonjo lifting away from the blade. Another possibility would be that the tip of the gonjo has been subjected to force. If this second keris belonged to me, and this opening bothered me, I would apply gentle heat to the gonjo with a propane torch, and tap it down to fit. Yes, heat could cause a gonjo to distort, but how and when would this heat be applied? When a blade is heat treated, the gonjo is not subjected to any heat at all.Gonjos are not welded into place, they are mechanically fixed. Long term deflection, caused by the weight of the blade being suspended by the gonjo? Perhaps some of our engineers could supply the figures that would tell us what sort of deflection we could expect and over what time period, taking into account such factors as the time that the blade was actually freely suspended, temperature variation, relief of stress when the blade was not suspended , or was withdrawn from the scabbard. I am not saying that long term deflection could not occur, but I rather suspect that requirements for any noticeable amount of deflection to occur might be so extreme as to completely remove this cause from consideration.