Different iron and steels used in the forging of keris??

[lemmythesmith]

Hello everyone, this is my first posting so please excuse my ignorance on the subject! I am a keen amateur bladesmith and have been interested in Keris for quite some time. Recently I purchased the book "keris daya magic-manfaat-tuah-misteri" I noticed all the different kinds of iron and steel used in the forging of keris. Some I could translate as "alloy steel" and of course I'm aware of the use of meteoric iron and nickelous iron from Sulawesi, does anyone know of other kinds of metal utilised? I am making some pamor at the moment using Campo Del Cielo and Sikhote Alin meteor mixed with old saw blades and mild steel strip which gives a good contrast in the etch, is plain wrought iron sometimes used? I have some old iron which I think would be nice to include in the pamor mix-is this done? Can a keris produced outside of Malaysia be considered a "real" keris? My field of forging expertise lies with Japanese swords and to be a "true" sword it must be made from "tamahagane" or it is considered wrong. Would I have to use certain metals to produce real keris or can any iron or steel be used? Hope someone can help!! Regards, Graham.

[Rick]

Hi Graham, welcome. :)
There is a lot of information in the archives on keris construction, so while you're waiting for some details try the search engine with various key words. :)
There will also be more info found here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true

Also you should try to find a copy of The World Of The Javanese Keris
By Garrett and Bronwyn Solyum ; there are lots of step by step Photos of the forging and carving process.

Rick

[Alam Shah]

I am a keen amateur bladesmith and have been interested in Keris for quite some time. Recently I purchased the book "keris daya magic-manfaat-tuah-misteri" I noticed all the different kinds of iron and steel used in the forging of keris.Hi Graham,
Welcome to the forum. :) Very interesting indeed... ;)

... I am making some pamor at the moment using Campo Del Cielo and Sikhote Alin meteor mixed with old saw blades and mild steel strip which gives a good contrast in the etch, is plain wrought iron sometimes used? I have some old iron which I think would be nice to include in the pamor mix-is this done? I have both meteorite samples. It would be interesting for me to see the results. Wrought iron are used, as far as I know. For a bladesmith point of view, ask Alan. :D

Can a keris produced outside of Malaysia be considered a "real" keris? My field of forging expertise lies with Japanese swords and to be a "true" sword it must be made from "tamahagane" or it is considered wrong. Would I have to use certain metals to produce real keris or can any iron or steel be used? Hope someone can help!! Regards, Graham.Of course it can be produced outside of Malaysia and Indonesia, but imo, it's best to use traditional techniques. As for the tools, using modern power tools are acceptable and had been demonstrated. Keris are manufactured in many parts of South East Asia, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia and a few other countries... Do let us see the material that you've created. :)