Mindanao kris, need help advise
 

Have bought some time ago this Mindanao kris, I think it's a Maguindanao kris, nothing special but I like the scabbard and the execution of the gangya or greneng work.
The scabbard was in two pieces held together pieces of fabric, I've glued them, later the scabbard will get some brass bands since I think there have been originally metal bands. The blade has had some minor corrosion spots, I've cleaned and polished the blade, finally I have etched the blade.
The hilt wrapping is lost at some places; under the wrapping is red cloth and the seller (who is a member of this forum) stated that this is a sign that this kris was carried in the rebellion against the Spanish.
Here we come to my question; do you would let the handle in this state or would you recruit the missing wrapping?

First some pictures from the seller.

And here some just taken pictures from the piece in the actual state.

Like you can see is one asang-asang a replacement, maybe because the original one was corroded.

Forget, the kris is 67 cm long inside scabbard with a blade from 55,5 cm.

Nice piece, I would leave it like it is........................jimmy

Delef: I would at least replace the wrapping where it is missing. Near my home we have a large hobby store (Michaels) that has just about anything a person would need according to his hobby interests. They carry several different types of hemp and jute string, used for stringing beads and whatnot. Some are almost exactly the type of braid used in moro handles. Some are a coarse type braid, some are a fine braid. They also carry 20 gauge and up stainless wire that is silver plated and with a fine twist. It is very easy to wrap handles and one cannot tell it from regular twisted silver wire on a moro handle. It looks just the same, at least to me anyway.........Dave.

Thank you Jimmy and Dave!

In the moment I am more with Dave to replace the missing wrapping and paint it again black but let see the red cloth in down since I think that it belong to the history of this kris. But I like to read other opinions as well.
Dave: Good to have such an shop nearby! :cool: I have ordered hemp bred string by ebay but have to look if it matching.

Regards,
Detlef

Hello Detlef,

I'd love the seller to expand on this!

Red cloth is quite commonly utilzed in Moro culture and red munsala cloth attached to the hilt seems to have been in usage for an extended period.


Since you have some more Moro kris in your collection, I'd be inclined to leave this piece as it is - as a kind of study/museum example.

Any repair will affect the visibility of the possibly authentic cloth. With the already replaced brass clamp and the remaining braiding (which seems to be done relatively poorly, especially for a kris supposedly from the Spanish period), no addition won't make it look complete, anyway.

OTOH, if you opt for a full restoration including a new (iron?) clamp, I'd suggest to completely rewrap the hilt in traditional Moro style and keep/display the carefully removed old hilt wrap together with the kris (I believe you can get braiding and cloth off intact if you carefully moisten it before trying to remove the blade).

Regards,
Kai

Hello Kai,

a very good point! The remaining wrapping is done in the traditional way and not done poorly IMHO but very worn. I like the replaced clamp from brass, it's a tribal repair and a part of the history of this kris. So maybe I will let the handle in this state. By this handle you can see very good the construction and how the clamps are attached and like you I think that the red cloth is some sort of munsala. And this kris is for sure a old fighter and never have been a blinky status piece so the idea to keep it like this as museum piece appeals to me.

Regards,
Detlef