Since epoxy resins became available in Jawa they have been mixed with iron filings and used on keris to fill the gap between the blade base and the gonjo. This was being done long before the keris revival that took place in the mid-1970's and the prolific production that commenced during the late 1980's and continues until today.
There is nothing wrong with a filler between the gonjo and the blade base.
Its original use was to preserve old keris and to protect the blade base and gonjo from further erosion. With current era keris its use has a similar purpose, but where filler is used in a recent keris, it should be as thin as possible, it should not be used as substitute for a poor fit.
In this keris there is very little erosion to any of the ricikan, and especially not to the greneng, but the gap between the gonjo and the blade base is what we could expect to see in a very old keris that had been neglected. Since this is not an old keris, what we are looking at is sub-standard workmanship.
This is quite an acceptable keris for use with formal Javanese dress, and the wrongko does appear to be very nice. As a collectable? We all have our own likes and dislikes.
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