Hello Robert,
Looks like a genuine keris panjang!
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I am not sure if the grip is horn as the slight areas of damage show a strong grain. Is this a characteristic of horn or is ebony or similar wood more likely? I will try and include a close-up picture.
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Aged horn can also show grain - from the pics given, I'm not prepared to decide. However, the pic of the base of the hilt does look more like painted wood to me (consistent with a few worn edges shown at the pommel end).
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The pamor on the blade is very plain and I gather that this can sometimes indicate an older blade. Can this one be classified and dated?
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It does look like an old, genuine blade, indeed. Most of these Bangkinang style blades are forged from very densely laminated but non-contrasting metal and appear to be pamorless (compared to the bold pamors seen on many keris); IMHO not much to base an age estimate on since there always have been bolder and less bold pamor types.
One would be tempted to classify this blade as Sumatran (realising these got traded widely) and antique. However, the greneng are very well preserved and, from the top of my head, I can't place this specific style.
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Finally a general question, the handle orientation seems to vary from keris to keris on the examples I have seen. Is there a reason for this?, is there a standard way to hold a keris or just individual choice and preference?
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Truth to be told, most hilt placements seen are for convenient storage (or display). For most keris the standard grip would be to snuggle up on the blade and pinch the horizontally orientated blade between the thumb on top and the curled index finger below with the pommel resting in the palm for directly transmitting the power from the base of the hand/wrist into the thrust (blade with gandik pointing to the left for the right hand). The 90° position on your pics is a reasonable start but in most cases a hilt somewhat turned inwards will feel best (i. e. most ergonomically). I'm not sure there really is any convenient fighting position for the hilt of a large keris panjang though - my gut feeling is that these were mainly status pieces. The smaller blades of this Bangkinang type are perfect for punching a hole or two though...
Regards,
Kai