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Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
Goodness gracious me!
One thing that could be considered in deciding if we are looking at a Madurese or a Balinese keris is the physical size of the keris concerned.
Balinese keris are worn with the gandar tucked into the top of the sarung at the back, and the handle standing above shoulder height.
Madurese keris are worn tucked into the setagen around the waist.
A Balinese keris in its wrongko is normally long enough to allow projection above the wearer`s shoulder, a Madurese keris is about the same size as most Javanese keris, designed to be worn at the waist.
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As I've only handled a small number of keris myself - and no Bali-Madura keris at all - I am curious about what kind of lengths to expect on Balinese wilah from Madura.
To my knowledge and in my experience, Javanese and Maduran blades are usually around 35 cm (13.5") while proper Balinese blades are around 40 cm (15.5") and up.
Would most Bali-Madura keris then also fall into the category of being around 35 cm long? Or could they still easily go up to around 40 cm, which seems somewhat short for a Balinese blade but somewhat long for a Javanese keris.
For those of you with Bali-Madura blades, could you share their lengths with us so we can form a better frame of reference?