Hello Rick,
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As for that blade, being the guy who can hold it; IMO it's contemporary to the dress .
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I think your kris is turn of the century (or late 19th c.) and would think that the pommel is possibly original (maybe there never was a ferrule or it went missing). Seems like a datu working piece to me - clearly showing status but not too fancy to get in the way...
Obviously, the smith tried to obtain the typical twistcore pattern but the layers appear a bit blurred and distorted; not top-notch craftmanship but certainly better than what almost all of us would be able to accomplish with traditional bladesmith equipment!
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Alan, why do you think the twists are laid on a plain core ?
I thought the edge was inserted .
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It doesn't make sense to insert an edge for a double-edged blade and even most/many single-edged Indonesian blades seem to be made of 3 sandwiched layers (pamor/steel core/pamor): Usually you can make out the steel core for the edge along the spine, too.
I have yet to see a laminated Moro kris blade which hasn't been done in such a sandwich (San Mai) way; same-o with traditional keris blades (noting the more recent, non-functional exceptions without any steel core).
Regards,
Kai