Kris/sundang
 

Some kris/sundang. From left to right:

1. Welded edges. Light and very agile; this is partly because it's somewhat petite. 593g.

2. Some chips to pommel, pommel was loose and is now reglued (and temporarily taped). 713g.

3. Long, light, and agile. Welded edges. The tip has been bent and straightened, and there is some slight delamination as a result. The end of the tail of the gangya is cracked. The strap from the stirrup goes all the way to the front point of the pommel - I haven't seen this before. Grip needs re-wrapping. Some damage to the scabbard (you can see the good side; the scabbard mouth on the bottom left side is missing, exposing the tail of the gangya). An excellent fighting weapon. 644g.

4. A pig of a kris, thick-bladed and unwieldy. One-piece blade, handle is a replacement. The weight of 866g does not go close to expressing how clumsy this is compared to the previous ones.

5. Modern. Dark blade. Malayan peninsula or Borneo? I'm not fond of the ergonomics of the grip, but otherwise it's nice. 695g.

6. Touristerrific, blade seems to be made from thin sheet metal. There has been some forging at the hilt end of the blade, perhaps to thicken the base of the gangya. Decoration, not weapon. 448g.

Timo:

Can you show us close-ups of the hilts and gangya areas. It's hard to see some of those details which would help determine where these may be from.

Ian.

Some more photos, of them individually, with a close-up of the hilt/gangya.

First, #1 above, the first from the left.

#2, second from the left.

#3, 3rd from the left.

#4, 3rd from the right.

#5, 2nd from the right. This is the last one I'll add these photos for, since I don't think there's any point in more photos of the tourist one (#6).

Hello Timo,

the last one, #5, is a keris, new creation IMHO in panjang dress.

Regards,
Detlef

I would agree with Detlef. In spite of its size i am not sure i would cal it a sundang. I think it's origins are more likely Madura than either the peninsula or Borneo and i'm pretty sure it is from this century.

Yes, #5 is recent. I'm probably the first owner. Might be 5 years old. Keris or sundang? I'd say it's a sundang blade mounted as a keris, but that's my subjective classification - I don't know what objective criteria I should use. (Certainly not just size - I have two keris that are larger, but clearly keris.)

I am tempted to put a kris-style hilt on it. In part because I don't like the current hilt ergonomically, and in part because I think it would suit it better.