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#1 |
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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This Moro kris was sold by a Portugese family from California. It's supposed to have been "obtained" during the Spanish-American war but there are no details since the persons who may have heard the story first-hand are long dead. Actually, the poor blade must have spend considerable time "in storage" - there's some damage to the tip (maybe partly "original"?).
The half-waved blade is of the Mindanao "crossover" type (sensu Cato); the 7 luks are pretty subdued. It has a deeply forged fuller along the full length which makes it feel light for its size (length 549 mm/21.6" + 65 mm/2.6" tang; width 41.5 mm/1.6" and thickness 5 mm at base of blade; gangya spread 128.5 mm/5.1" and 12.2 mm/0.48" thick; weight 477 g). The utilized steels, the inner core and the outer layers, seem to be both pattern welded. The asang-asang is forged of iron - this integral type extends below the hilt till the end of the grip. The kakatua hilt carved from banati wood still has a silver band at the base but any wrapped twine (or braided wire) is long gone. I suppose this is a datu piece mainly based on the elaborate silver inlay which would be inappropriate for any Moro of lower status AFAIK. I guess this could originate from Maguindanao (i. e. a Luma) since the silver band is plain and I'd expect a far more elaborately embellished hilt if it were of Maranao origin. (No original scabbard to glean additional information from.) The following pics show the blade after rust removal by pineapple juice. Most of the blade is in good condition (some pitting at the tip though) but quite rough which tends to obscure the nice lamination pattern, especially towards the tip. Would it be advisable to (moderately) repolish it by hand followed by a final etching to restore the original appearance of this Moro blade? Any and all comments appreciated! Regards, Kai |
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#2 |
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right side...
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#3 |
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left side...
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#4 |
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Left side of blade...
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#5 |
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I have seen similar features on keris melayu - a shared (though rare) theme?
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#6 |
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... in original condition (asang-asang already cleaned).
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#7 |
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Asang-asang forged from a single piece of iron.
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#8 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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Kai, what is really nice about this puppy is that you have the silver inlay intact.
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#9 |
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Location: Chicago area
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nice old kris. the pictures make it hard to tell the real condition. even hand poishing with light abrasive compond may pull up rust deteriorated metal particles that might scratch the inlay, if your not carefull. You might try buying a soft cotton mop, put the handle in a vise, so that the strings hang freely. streak one side with a fine abasive compond and the other with final polish. Componds contain silica and should not be inhaled, wear leather gloves so you don't cut yourself. if you keep changing where you insert the sword into the mop head, you are less likely to cause scratches; the tips of the mop can be used for working certain areas. Good Luck, post some pics when you are done.
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#10 | ||
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Thanks, Battara!
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Thanks again for your feedback! Regards, Kai |
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#11 | |||||
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Hi Bill,
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![]() Regards, Kai |
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#12 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Hello Kai , here is one example of fairly simple silver braiding .
![]() As for increasing your images to 150dpi wouldn't this adversely affect the dimensions of the images you can upload ? |
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#13 |
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My thoughts of the mop is that the fiber are woven, and tiny pieces of metal will either go into the indentions or fall;+lots of surface on all those strings,& cheap. You can buy all different degree's of compounds-cutting,pre-polish,&polishing. Once you mix them you only have the coursest. Put one in one area & another one in a different area, using the courser one first. While a moderatly abrasive like "tripoli" may be fine for the steel, it won't be gentle on the silver, for your situation. There is probably 20 differant degrees of componds for polishing, alone. Battara, Federico, or anyone else may want to jump in here. Myself, I'm a little worried about how much damage has been done by the rust, you may start to loose some of your surface.
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#14 |
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The problem I have always had with inlay and restoring kris has been in the etching vs the polishing. The acid can seep underneath the inlay and loosen it, or it can eat away at the thin inlay real fast vs its eat rate for steel. In certain cases, I have used a thin layer of clear nail polish to protect inlay or other fittings (such as asang-asang) when etching. High grit sandpaper (eg. 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, etc...), is relatively gentle. You could always start at a higher grit. I would just personally avoid over-etching, or long soaks in acid, as it can add a topographical etch, that at least in what I have seen, has not been typical of Moro swords. The polishing compound idea, can work depending on the compound, but there is always a danger that some compounds contain a portective additive that can sometimes create more of a mess than theyre worth (eg. brasso). Jewelers red rouge is nice, and goes a long way. If the rust is isolated in spots, you could just use #0000 steel wool, a gentle hand, and some WD-40 (or other penetratin oil), to clean it off. Anyways, nice kris, and great inlay.
Kai, if you decide to send to Battara for restoration, you may want to think about adding a silver collar underneath the cockatua below, above the wrap. |
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#15 |
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Federico has a very good point on the over etching. Light etching to bring out pamor is fine and won't really affect the inlay. Over etching in the way he describes is for Javanese pieces, etc., and will pop out the inlay (thus I have not seen much in true inlay in Javanese pieces).
Will try to post a Maguindanao datu hilt when I get the chance. A typical Maguindanao hilt might consist of okir bands, top and bottom, and possibly interspaced between wrapped twisted woven bands of silver. Okir bands in this case may mean gold over copper/brass or silver. |
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#16 | |
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Hi Rick,
Thanks for the pic! Quote:
Regards, Kai |
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#17 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Keep in mind the average dpi display of a computer monitor .
Isn't it 70 or so ? ![]() |
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#18 | |||
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![]() I'll probably use different mops for each compound to be on the safe side. ![]() Quote:
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Regards, Kai |
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#19 | ||||
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BTW, did anybody tried oil based polish vs. water based paste? Quote:
![]() Regards, Kai |
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#20 | ||
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Thanks, Battara!
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![]() I'm looking forward to seeing more Maguindanao datu hilts! ![]() Regards, Kai |
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#21 |
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As promised, here is a Maguindanao kris I have that is closest to yours. The hilt has an ivory pommel, the bands are of okired swaasa over copper and braided twisted silver. The bottom band is silver.
Enjoy! ![]() PS. (I also do installment plans ![]() |
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#22 | ||
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![]() ![]() Regards, Kai |
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#23 |
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Thanks. I'm pleased.
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#24 |
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Here's a link to a somewhat similar example: http://www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=1804
However, the inlay just reaches into the fuller (which is also less wide), whereas the fuller extends more towards the base in my blade so that the inlay is completely within the fuller. BTW, isn't Artzi's dating a bit early for his piece? Regards, Kai |
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