Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

DAHenkel · 29th December 2004, 02:15 PM

Rasdan, the mystery wood is ketenggah. Not particularly rare or unusual but less commonly used than kemuning.

Please do note though that there is no such thing as kemuning gembol per-se. Gembol is a sort of scar tissue that forms on trees that are damaged. Teak (jati) is particularly well known for gembol because it forms solidly and in large enough pieces that it can be used for woodcarving. While no doubt an injured kemuning tree would probably form some sort of scar or gembol, it would likely be too small to use for carving anything as the tree itself is quite small. Rarely more than the thickness of a man's thigh.

Indeed, you should note that Kemuning can really only barely be classified as a tree. A really old, mature Kemuning may be only 10 to 15 feet tall. Its more of a glorified bush really and only the wood below the surface is considered particularly desirable for keris applications, although of course all the wood is used for various other purposes. Kemuning is actually quite common and is often used for hedges. When it flower's, which is fairly frequently, it smells wonderfully - sweet, somewhat like jasmine or honeysuckle. Large, mature plants are very rare and because they are so valuable poachers usually take them from the wild before they are fully ready for use.

The best kemuning wood comes from trees that live in the mountains or right on the coast in rocky, less fertile soil. These plants have had a hard life and have grown very slowly, fighting to put down roots through the tough, unyielding soil. Some people confuse the high figuring of kemuning as gembol but this is actually not so. The best kemuning comes from the root ball of the tree, located at the junction of the roots and trunk. Here, particularly when the tree has had a "hard life", the wood will be heavily twisted and gnarled. Damage from fungus will leave dark striations in the wood. The constant pressure and twisting from the tree swaying in the breeze will compress and accordion the grains leaving the "tiger stripes" or "flames" which kemuning is so famous for.

Both sheaths are in the Pattani style. Definintely not any kind of Bugis, Sulawesi, Straits or otherwise. Fairly young by the look of it - pre WWII but not much more than that. The painted one is not the best I've seen in form and may well not be old, or if it is old it is not the best quality. The fact that its been painted suggests that it was either badly damaged and has been repaired or is new wood and the paint was used to disguise it. You could try cleaning off the paint with thinner but be prepared to be dissapointed by what you find underneath.

29th December 2004, 02:15 PM	#2
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Rasdan, the mystery wood is ketenggah. Not particularly rare or unusual but less commonly used than kemuning. Please do note though that there is no such thing as kemuning gembol per-se. Gembol is a sort of scar tissue that forms on trees that are damaged. Teak (jati) is particularly well known for gembol because it forms solidly and in large enough pieces that it can be used for woodcarving. While no doubt an injured kemuning tree would probably form some sort of scar or gembol, it would likely be too small to use for carving anything as the tree itself is quite small. Rarely more than the thickness of a man's thigh. Indeed, you should note that Kemuning can really only barely be classified as a tree. A really old, mature Kemuning may be only 10 to 15 feet tall. Its more of a glorified bush really and only the wood below the surface is considered particularly desirable for keris applications, although of course all the wood is used for various other purposes. Kemuning is actually quite common and is often used for hedges. When it flower's, which is fairly frequently, it smells wonderfully - sweet, somewhat like jasmine or honeysuckle. Large, mature plants are very rare and because they are so valuable poachers usually take them from the wild before they are fully ready for use. The best kemuning wood comes from trees that live in the mountains or right on the coast in rocky, less fertile soil. These plants have had a hard life and have grown very slowly, fighting to put down roots through the tough, unyielding soil. Some people confuse the high figuring of kemuning as gembol but this is actually not so. The best kemuning comes from the root ball of the tree, located at the junction of the roots and trunk. Here, particularly when the tree has had a "hard life", the wood will be heavily twisted and gnarled. Damage from fungus will leave dark striations in the wood. The constant pressure and twisting from the tree swaying in the breeze will compress and accordion the grains leaving the "tiger stripes" or "flames" which kemuning is so famous for. Both sheaths are in the Pattani style. Definintely not any kind of Bugis, Sulawesi, Straits or otherwise. Fairly young by the look of it - pre WWII but not much more than that. The painted one is not the best I've seen in form and may well not be old, or if it is old it is not the best quality. The fact that its been painted suggests that it was either badly damaged and has been repaired or is new wood and the paint was used to disguise it. You could try cleaning off the paint with thinner but be prepared to be dissapointed by what you find underneath. Last edited by DAHenkel; 29th December 2004 at 02:41 PM.