Thanks for your commentary and confirming why i found this keris hard to except as presented. Stock removal makes a lot of sense for the method the luks were formed on this blade. Not sure why i didn't think of it as a possibility. Maybe this head cold i have right now compressing my thought patterns. LOL!
Rick, is the hilt fixed in place. The one thing i would recommend is to turn the hilt 180º for a proper orientation.