Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Azman · 28th December 2011, 02:21 AM

Hello Rick, Yes, I own this keris.I bought it from a keris collector in Bali whose name I cannot mention here. He has huge collections and have exhibit his keris at Vredeburg - Yogyakarta in 2005.

What happened was that my tour guide took me to his house to look for keris as I have expressed interest to him earlier. The moment I step my feet into this old room which was full of kerises of various size and design, my eye was caught by this bare blade which was laying on a bench. The pamor design was most unique and I immediately felt a sense of connection with it. However, the keris owner said I can only own it if the measurement of the blade matches my measurement on my thumb width. He then took a piece of coconut leave and make the measurement from the center line of the blade length one side to the other and make another measurement at the mid length width of the blade. He then wrapped the coconut leave to the the exact measured width of the blade. It was wrapped 13 times. He then asked me to used the edge of my thumb of my right and left hand and sequentially lay over each other over the entire length of the blade. Surprisingly it counted 13 times as well. I was skeptic and tried on another 7 luk blade and it counted 11 times. The Kris collector told me that 13 count is a better count to keep. Me being me, which is full of skeptic, didn't really pay much attention to this. Really, it was the design that attracts me a lot. The blade collector said that this blade was very rare and old and the price is a bit high. I didn't really think twice as I know deep in my heart I like it so much. So I bought it.

I did ask him what was the origin of the blade. He said, this blade was sold to him by a Balinese villager who was desperate for cash as He had lost some betting. He told me the blade was actually kept hanging in a bamboo stem to protect it from wear and tear. He also told me to take this and try to keep it and if I don't want to keep it anymore I can pass it back to him and he is willing to pay back the price that I paid. To him this keris has protective power for the owner but I'm not really sure of this claim but at the same time since i don't know much on keris, I do not want to contest it.

Hi David, thanks for your advise. I'll try to take another photo as suggested later. It's night time now and hence, I cannot get good natural lighting without flash.

Thanks for the advise AG. Actually, you are spot on on the super glue. I tried doing that but it does not seem to hold well. So I decided to clean it up and just press fit it. I have welded this blade yet as I don't want to inflict any damage to it.

I have never heard coromandel too. What is it?

28th December 2011, 02:21 AM	#8
Azman Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 7	Hello Rick, Yes, I own this keris.I bought it from a keris collector in Bali whose name I cannot mention here. He has huge collections and have exhibit his keris at Vredeburg - Yogyakarta in 2005. What happened was that my tour guide took me to his house to look for keris as I have expressed interest to him earlier. The moment I step my feet into this old room which was full of kerises of various size and design, my eye was caught by this bare blade which was laying on a bench. The pamor design was most unique and I immediately felt a sense of connection with it. However, the keris owner said I can only own it if the measurement of the blade matches my measurement on my thumb width. He then took a piece of coconut leave and make the measurement from the center line of the blade length one side to the other and make another measurement at the mid length width of the blade. He then wrapped the coconut leave to the the exact measured width of the blade. It was wrapped 13 times. He then asked me to used the edge of my thumb of my right and left hand and sequentially lay over each other over the entire length of the blade. Surprisingly it counted 13 times as well. I was skeptic and tried on another 7 luk blade and it counted 11 times. The Kris collector told me that 13 count is a better count to keep. Me being me, which is full of skeptic, didn't really pay much attention to this. Really, it was the design that attracts me a lot. The blade collector said that this blade was very rare and old and the price is a bit high. I didn't really think twice as I know deep in my heart I like it so much. So I bought it. I did ask him what was the origin of the blade. He said, this blade was sold to him by a Balinese villager who was desperate for cash as He had lost some betting. He told me the blade was actually kept hanging in a bamboo stem to protect it from wear and tear. He also told me to take this and try to keep it and if I don't want to keep it anymore I can pass it back to him and he is willing to pay back the price that I paid. To him this keris has protective power for the owner but I'm not really sure of this claim but at the same time since i don't know much on keris, I do not want to contest it. Hi David, thanks for your advise. I'll try to take another photo as suggested later. It's night time now and hence, I cannot get good natural lighting without flash. Thanks for the advise AG. Actually, you are spot on on the super glue. I tried doing that but it does not seem to hold well. So I decided to clean it up and just press fit it. I have welded this blade yet as I don't want to inflict any damage to it. I have never heard coromandel too. What is it?