looking for a moro kris.
 

hello all.

ive been wanting to get a moro kris in the near future and i know some of you are very knowledgeable on this weapon, so i just wanted to ask about what to look for in a good kris?


id like to purchase something similar to this:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/maersk/kris.jpg



it has just about everything i like in a kris (nice, wide blade, fuller down the center, clean blade, ect)

Try to get a piece with the pommel intact; look for heavy, good quality stirrup/s attaching the hilt to the blade .
Look for original wrap in good condition .
Search the old kris threads to see more examples .

Must it be a Kakatua Pommel ?
That adds $$ to the cost .
Without going into value I would say the kris you show would cost a very pretty penny .


Are you in a CITES* treaty country ?
Beware Ivory; it could get confiscated if found .

This is not an offer; but would a kris like this form work for you ?
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/160-rb3a.jpg
Just trying to set some parameters here to help in your quest . :)

Rick

As Rick said, we can not mention prices in this forum. If you want to email me, I can give you some ideas. I am not selling, so this is not an offer. Just give you information.

The sword you posted has some very good features. It would be pricey!

I have one similar. See the first two pictures, and the last one.

Added a few more in the middle.

Hey Bill, Have you tried to see the tangs on the 18C's you have? The one with the single curve looks pretty old, that's the one that would be interesting to find out. Didn't you once mention knowing someone that had some x-ray equip? How many 18C's do you have? Do you see any relation, from what you can guess, as to age compared to the point of the blade tip?

Hey Bill,

Are you talking abuot the first one in the second group? The twistore group?

This is an interesting piece. An expert thinks it could be a "transition piece," possibly made in Brunei.

Let me begin another thread with pictures of this Kris.

An excellent suggestion about x-raying the hilt. I also want to x-ray my kris with the VOC blade. Any other suggestions? (You rent the x-ray machine by the hour -- $200 -- as many pictures as you want).

I should add in the Maranao kris with the tang repair also. He can x-ray steel or iron better than copper/bronze.

I should take several pieces. Any other suggestions?

most of those would work for me :D and yea, the one i posted would probably be a pretty pricey piece.

i just like the thick, wide blades and straight or semiwavy patterns, and no, the cockatoo pommel isnt a requirement for me.

this may peeve some people, but i much perfer the shape and size of the moro weapon over the indonesian/malaysian variants.

Bill, When you get a chance to take some more pics & open the new thread it would be appreciated. I would certainly think it is a early kris from what I can see. Doubt you could do much slashing without breaking the blade/tang but could stab quite well. I see three 18C's in your group, be nice to see all the 18C's you have & try to see if others will post theirs. I've got 2 but got to get the camera charged up & have a Mac & have not tried loading pictures on it yet.
Once you have handled these 18C's it is easy to know the difference between these & the normal kris. The oldest one has a small round tang & the other has a oval tang that is much bigger. While the first would break in slashing mode, the second could do the task but still has a tapered tip.
If you decide to have them x-rayed, i would do all the 18C's.

Yup me too :D . I've been collecting keris and yet to own some good Philippines kris.

Bill Marsh, I must admit I'm impressed with your collections. especially that cute one Luk 3. Lovely collections.

It isn't all size that matters :D :D :D

Check out Bill Marsh' thread about a Moro / Sumatra / VOC combination keris.

Hello Bill,

I knew you had a big collection with great pieces, but your collection seems to be far more interesting as I even thought it was.
Thanks for posting these wonderful pieces.

I hope I can add a moro kris piece at my collection this year.
And if it is half of the quality as the pieces you have, I would be satisfied! :D

Regards,
Maurice

Glitter Is Nice ....
 

Let us not forget the merits of the simple warrior's kris . :)

in bill's post i love the one fourth from the right in the fourth picture down.

This one below? I have cleaned the blade a little. I don't like to do much to a blade. Just keep it "as found."

Something weird with my pictures. Will remove and make smaller.

yep, thats the one.