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Originally Posted by David
Carbon dating is a destructive process AFAIK. You would therefore need to damage your blade in order to know the date. Not really a prospect i am willing to consider with my own collection.
I must admit that i do tend to prefer antique keris to new simply because antiquities and past cultures is a strong part of what drives my collecting. I do like to know as much as is possible about my keris historical and i am always pleased when i can place pieces into at least vague eras for time frame purposes. But ultimately i am also pleased simply to be able to enjoy the keris for it's appearances as a weapon/artform. Certainly i would never damage a blade just so i could accurately date it.  |
I read a bit about radio carbon dating and yes, it is a destructive in terms of small parts must be chiseled out from the blade and destroyed in the process of dating
however, the amount of materials used in this process is now less than 1 g per sample, and even small flake can be used
I am thinking about chiseling small bit of the pesi ...
but once more, the obstacle on this method is in its cost ... the cost of doing the test is around 250 - 750 USD per sample ...
perhaps some of the oldest and most valuable blade can be tested and verified on its age
on other side, this method does have its flaws ... so basically it is back to the owner of the blade itself
regarding my opinion, I would rather spend USD 250 on a nice keris or nice dinner than throw it away to check the age of just one blade