and so I paid a visit to pandai besi known as Najo in Pasir Mas Kelantan yesterday. You can count the best keris makers in Malaysia on one hand right now and he is now the pre eminent pandai besi in kelantan.( The best keris maker by the name of Mustapha unfortunately passed away last year in his early fifties due to heart failure).
He (Najo) make copies of pandai saras, tok chu and malela and here are some examples that reinforce the current understanding of the characteristic shapes of these blade styles.
Pic 1: variations of Tok Chu. the bottom one is his exact copy of an 'original' Tok Chu. Although the size and width look like Tok Chu it is not massive and heavy as an original Tok Chu.
pic 2: Pandai Saras. The bottom one is not yet finished.
pic 3: Malela. The bottom one was made by the famous Mustafa and now belongs to me :-)
Carita, according to Najo is a malela look but without the luks.
My apologies for the poor pics. (blame it on cheap digital cam :-) )
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