"Archaic" Keris or treated to look old?
 

In response to Bill's enquiry in the Moro Kris thread I took some pics of a Keris I bought in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The shop owner didn't have any other keris and unfortunately he didn't have what I actually was looking for either.
The scabbard, as well as the hilt is new but I am not sure if the blade is old or treated with acids to look old. What's strange is that the form/dapur isn't like the other acid treated Keris Buda I have seen as well as it's much bigger than a regular Keris Luk.
What do you think?

Michael

PS To my untrained eyes the metal structure resembles a bit this Keris on Adni's site?
http://www.geocities.com/keris4u/ker...ih_sogokan.htm

This is always a point of debate and often enough photographs alone are not enough to make a clear judgement. That being said, my gut instinct on this one is that it is a recently made blade submited to servere acis treatments to make it appear old. It doesn't look like a regular Keris Buda because it is not one at all, though i am not sure exactly what this dapur is called.

If this was a real old one, the lambe gadja probably was broken off due the many acid washings. This one looks to much chemical threatend to me.

New keris
 

Michael,

Small world it seems! I've have had the pleasure of seeing and handling the keris in person at the shop you mentioned. A newly Maduran made item. The shop also closed 2 weeks ago. Otherwise I hope you have had a good holiday in Sabah...

Thanks all,

Good to know because I have been insecure about this one - is it or is it not... ;)
It looked more buried, like Bill indicated, than the usual dented acid treated look of the faked Keris Buda.

Otherwise it was very nice in Sabah (as usual), John. Even if I didn't find any old blades I managed to pick up some new Silat moves as well as having a great vacation with my family.

Michael

I have reworked a fair number of buried blades that have been excavated with metal detectors, and I've etched a fair number with a variety of acids. That looks like a buried surface to me; looks pretty much just like one, as opposed to a bath of liquid acid. The way flakes of rust seem to have come off some areas; rust forms in flakes like that; acid doesn't attack that way; it tends more to rounded pits/craters that start from some tiny imperfection in the surface; looks like an excavated blade that has been cleaned (of its burial rust) with acid; most of the lost material would be lost to rust, not to acid.....On the other hand, I hear that in parts of Africa are patches of very acidic (?or something?) soil wherein if one buries newly made things, one digs up "antiques" in a few months or a year....probably anything can be faked.......