[A. G. Maisey]

Arjuna, unlike many people I do not find wrongkos that have been adapted to a keris, rather than made specifically for that keris, to be unacceptable.

The question of acceptability or not is all a matter of balance.

Using the old Javanese standard as a point of reference, it is correct to say that when a keris is given a wrongko, that wrongko should ideally be newly made for that keris. However, in today's world, and for a long time in the past, quality material for a newly made wrongko has simply not been available. Even when material is able to be sourced from outside Jawa, it is now rarely possible to source premium quality material that is suitable for use as a wrongko.

The dreaded CITES restrictions have been applied to some woods, and other woods have become so scarce that good material is very rarely encountered.

The end result of this is that in Jawa itself, the old standard has had to be rethought and Javanese philosophy has found a way in which to rationalise this problem.

In Javanese society divorce and remarriage, or remarriage of a woman after the death of a husband is the norm, it is not something unusual or to which unrealistic restrictions apply.

Think about it:- rich and/or powerful older men frequently marry much younger women who as a rule are quite premium quality women. As for death, so it is with divorce; in Javanese society divorce is a very common occurrence.

It is completely unrealistic to expect a premium quality woman --- or any woman, for that matter --- to remain unattached simply because her husband has died or a divorce has occurred. She will remarry.

Javanese historical sources record many cases of the remarriage of women of noble birth after the death of a husband, or even after theft of the woman by another man.

The Javanese do not waste anything, and the same thing applies to the potential waste of a good woman.

In Javanese philosophy, the wilah or blade of the keris has a male character, and the warangka (wrongko) has a female character. This relationship is frequently used in Javanese philosophical discussion.

As with women, so it is with a wrongko:- it is not wasted.

In the present day and age if somebody wants a wrongko made of premium quality material, he really has no option but to seek that premium quality material in wrongkos that were originally made for other blades. All older blades have had more, sometimes many more, than one wrongko, that means that there are a lot of old wrongkos floating around, not all of these old wrongkos are gems, just as not all women qualify as centrefold models, but then not all keris blades are the keris equivalent of a male stripper.

Going back 30 years and more, I found it impossible to have a new wrongko made from premium quality timoho. Even though I had connections of the most powerful nature, right at the top of the keris culture, in Solo, Jawa Tengah, I could not get a new wrongko made from even good, let alone premium, timoho or trembalu.

In 1984 I paid an absolutely obscene sum of money for a piece of scented sandalwood with feather crotch grain (simbar grain). Today I doubt that it would be possible to obtain such a piece of scented sandalwood, even if I was prepared to wait for an extended period of time, and pay an even more obscene sum of money.

In about 2005 I placed an order with perhaps the best connected keris dealer in Solo for two pieces of good burl teak (jati gembol) large enough for a Surakarta ladrangan terusan wrongko ( a terusan wrongko is one with the gandar made iras, that is, as one with the atasan or gambar). I promised the dealer that I would pay double the going price for this wood, in order to ensure maximum opportunity of obtaining it. This was a special order for a friend. After a three year wait and no wood, I was offered, and I accepted, two pieces of very good jati gembol large enough for a ladrangan, but not large enough for a ladrangan terusan.

The simple reality of the matter is this:- if we want a wrongko that has been made from top quality material we either refit an older one or seek out a premium quality complete keris and pay the appropriate price. This second option is not an option at all for most keris collectors based in the world outside Jawa.

To address the keris under discussion in this thread.

The blade is an older one of rather pedestrian quality, the naga is original to the blade, the gonjo has been replaced.

The wrongko is a relatively nice piece of timoho and is perfectly suited in both quality and condition for the blade; regrettably no effort has been put into the refit, but I can understand this, because the cost of a refit by a skilled m'ranggi would not be justified for the quality of this blade.

The pendok is old, ordinary pasar quality and has some damage; the jejeran is old, passable quality, but will be subject to a risk of cracking so should be treated gently --- do not exert undue pressure if removing, do not bind the tang all the way down when refitting, keep it out of direct sunlight; the mendak is old, pasar quality and appears to be undamaged.

I consider this to be a good representative keris for a beginning collector. Everything goes together nicely and it is a very nice example of the type of keris that many ordinary people living in Jogjakarta and surrounding districts would have as a personal keris.