Yes, David, the dark stripe is natural. Consider that the colors in the pic are somewhat exaggerated: the stripe was in fact more brown than black, and the rest very light brown.

Thanks for the clarification Gio. Photos can often be deceiving.

when I saw the sor soran part of the blade, I thought the keris had a ''pesi ceblokan''. Correct me if I am wrong

I cannot answer that because i am unfamiliar with the term. Could you explain it further?

pesi ceblokan is a term to refer a pesi of keris that was made after the blade was completed. normal pesi is made together with the blade. some old blade has this pesi ceblokan (originally made by the maker), but in recent years I have seen old keris that has weak or broken pesi, has its pesi replaced by ceblokan technique, i.e. new pesi is fitted thru the gonjo and the sorsoran of the blade

Okay, thanks Penangsang. This is as Alan has already suggested, i think. A google serve of the phrase led me to these images on another forum. Unfortunately the google translator makes quite a mess of the Indonesian language. I wasn't able to make much sense of the conversation. :)

[QUOTE=David]Well, i'm pretty certain that mine is natural having it in hand and Erik's looks pretty good as well, though his photos aren't so detailed. Not sure about Henri's, but my filling is that this style of hilt seems to be just for kendit wood. Does anyone have an example without the belt? :shrug:[/QUOTE

I attach the picture of 2 quite similar hilts (old but of more common quality) including one without the kendit band. If the band is artificial, it could be made by staining with China ink or equivalent (preferentially flowing to the rims as on 2 of the specimens shown ) or by poker-work (the piece from Henri). Would somebody dare testing it by scratching a small corner of the band or inspecting the peksi hole with a torch lamp to check the continuity inside? I will test the one on the right of the picture and will report the resuts if they are clear enough.
Regards

Thanks for these other examples Jean. At least now we know that the kendit wasn't a requirement for this hilt form. In answer to your question i would not be willing to scratch any part of my hilt to prove what i can already clearly determine with the hilt in hand. When i get a moment i might try taking a look up the pesi hole, but even it the mark does not continue on the inside it could still be genuine.The discoloration just might not run that deep. If it can't be determined by my photos i can tell you that i am pretty certain with the piece in hand that my hilt has a true kendit. :-)

I performed the scratch test on a small motif at the base of the hilt shown on the right of the picture and the black stain faded so it confirms that it was dyed.
On the other hand the kendit band on the warangka shown herebelow is genuine as it is clearly visible inside the slot (the wood is clean as it was slightly cut recently for fitting the blade).
Regards