Is this too long of a blade for a Keris?

[apolaki]

Greetings Again, this is my second sword. I was told the "Hulu" is Indonesian origin, but the blade is from the Philippines? Can you pls tell me what you make of it and also a little history, place of origin, era, etc? Thanks soo much!

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01631.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01629.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01630.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01633.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01639.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01640.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01641.jpg

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/pipitolaki/DSC01642.jpg

Thanks again, and I am still learning how to take more clearer pictures..

[semar]

hello Apolaki

this keris looks like a moro keris with a madurees hulu and a very bad self made scabbert

regards semar

[David]

No Apolaki, the blade isn't "too long", it's a Moro kris and should be sword length. The scabbard isn't high-end, but it is traditional and just fine. What is wrong with the picture is the hilt which you might want to consider replacing with an appropriate Moro hilt. :)

[Bill]

Hi, From the looks of the exposed wood, it doesn't look like it's been tampered with for a very long time. Most likely we will never find out where this kris last resided in it's "working life".
While the blade likely originated in the Southern Philippines, the original hilt will remain unknown.
Just my opinion, I would leave it alone. Nothing wrong with re-matching "correct" dress, if you suspect a collector was switching the hilt from pieces in his collection, but I would suspect other.
This is a very inter-active part of the world & was even more so when this sword was used.

[Bill]

Thinking about it, I wouldn't rule out this being the original hilt. While not a exact match, Moro Swords/Cato has examples in fig. 37 & 47, neither which is the norm, but Moro Swords have a tendency to break the norm.
There is definitely a possibility that the hilt was a trade piece, carved else where & ended up in the markets of the PI.
The sword & the hilt both have age & appear to have been around together for a long time.

[kulbuntet]

Can it be a borneo(Kalimantan) Keris? Some of then look like moro keris but they are not.

[Rick]

More like it's a recently married piece; the kris has a rectangular tang and the Madura hilt has been modified to fit .

Much too out of character to be a Moro modification .

[kai]

The bone hilt is resembling Madura style but low quality work - can't be very old. I'd guess that the Moro kris blade ended up in Indonesia and got refitted for selling purposes.

The blade is old and quite worn (mid 19th c.?) and comes from Mindanao. How long is it?

Regards,
Kai

[David]

Thinking about it, I wouldn't rule out this being the original hilt.
I would rule this out for a few reasons, but first and foremost is that if you look closely i think you can see that the blade once had an asang-asang which i do not believe this hilt would accomodate.

[David]

Oh, and since this really is a Moro piece i am going to ship this thread over to the main forum for discussion. :)

[PenangsangII]

IMHO, this is a recent made copy by Madurese of the Filipino kris / Malay Sundang ........ I've seen a few like this one in Kuala Lumpur

[Bill]

Well the consensus is that it's a recently matched piece.
I have little doubt the blade is 19thC. The file work on the guard suggests it may be even be mid 19C.
IMO, Malay sundangs generally have a slight tapper to the blade. This one has broad blade (suggesting Moro) for slashing & likely was made to attach stirrups. It may well have once had stirrups but the photos I see don't determine, one way or another, that it once had or never did. One would suspect that if did have for any length of time the metal underneath would have distinct visible signs of different exposure/wear.
Wood surfaces darken with age, the deeper you plane a old board, the lighter it gets. While it may never look like fresh lumber, each swipe of the plane will lighten the wood. Agree that photos can easily show distortion of colors, but those pics suggest to me that wood was carved a long time ago. The entire hilt (wood/metal/bone) shows age. If it was artificially aged, they did a great job.
Once again it would be interesting to see the tang. This one is off center, which is not uncommon for Moro blades. It would appear this tang might have a more narrow rectangular shape. If it showed recent filing to fit the hilt, it would pretty much tell the story. But from a the tangs I've examined, they do vary quite a bit & a narrow/longer tang on a old blade would be the norm.