Hello Rick,
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I still want to point out that this blade has a central core of mechanical damascus, you can see the lines on each side, with the edges welded on. This seems more Moro in nature. Do you often find keris with a central plate with the edges welded on? Bill, I have had a few Bugis keris over the years and I don't remember a pattern exactly like this one. As I recall, they did tend to have a nice pattern down the central portion of the blade, and as I recall somewhat similar to the blade in question, but the big difference was that it was not a central core with edges welded on. It was a single blade, not of tripartite construction.
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I'm pretty sure this kris/keris sundang is of 3-layered construction (San Mai) as are almost all Moro kris and keris...
This pamor pattern is common on keris Bugis - of course, the "random" types are more numerous.
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Now, the handle doesn't seem terribly Moro on this piece but the scabbard to my eye looks more Moro than Malay. So, it seems to have characteristics of several cultures so is it a type of missing link?
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I'd stipulate that the scabbard isn't typical for Malay keris sundang. The brass coils seem to be off and may possibly have been added more recently. Bill, any provenance for this piece?
I don't think the blade - much less the fittings - are old enough to be even close to a missing link. Much more likely that the blade travelled a bit through the archipelago before ending up with Bill. BTW, I don't want to sound too critical: I do like this piece!
Regards,
Kai