Hi guys,
Been buried by work recently, and didn't have time to join the action.
Well, going to be very busy until end of September, at least.
Ah, I remember Zack's keris very well, because I was very interested in it too!
It is definitely a Straits Bugis blade, and a very fine one too. The pamor is very well controlled both in terms of staying within the confines of the blade and the tightness. The luks are gracefully meandering and the tip is a very well-formed 'dome' tip. I would say the blade is nearly as fine as the golden keris on the cover of Court Arts of Indonesia.
The blade has been "washed" (etched with warangan) in Java, hence the high contrast and Javanese look. Washing influences the look of a keris very much. Straits Bugis refer to the Bugis who stay on either side of the Melaka Straits, mostly in the Riau islands, Johore and Selangor. Their blades were generally 'sweeter' and more refined than Sulawesi keris blades. I have no idea why, even though Sulawesi was the home island of the Bugis.
The fittings were, in my opinion, contemporary and made in Java. The ivory were stained to achieve the yellow-orange colour, which differed somewhat from the orange stain used in Sumatra. See 1st pic. However, this would not detract from the fact the sheath is very well made.
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http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_album.php)
The pistol-grip hilt is nice, but if you look carefully, has a head which differs subtlely from a typical Straits Bugis hilt. Specifically, the forehead was protruding a bit too much. See next 2 pics.
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http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_photo.php
http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_photo.php)
The pendoko (hilt cup) is rather atypical, though, I'd say its still a pendoko, and proper. See fourth pic for a Bugis/Malay "Melaka cup" pendoko.. The pendok is very fine, and represents very well repoussed Bugis motif.
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http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_photo.php)
The sampir is generally of the correct form, though somewhat flat. See fifih pic for an "archetypal" Sumatran Bugis non-chieftain keris sampir.
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http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_photo.php)
Despite the Javanese origin of the fittings, this is still a very fine Bugis keris with generally proper form, and very beautiful too! And the generous use of ivory adds to the high value of this Bugis keris. I was really short of cash back then, and couldn't afford this keris. Congratulations, Zack! Keep it well.
And as to Rick's blade, I think it is Sumatran too.
It has a hexagonal cross-section, and the metal looks like those found on Sumatran kerises, and if I see correctly, the pamor is the typical Bugis ujung gunong-kulit semangka combination. The hilt is a keris panjang hilt, with a fitting pendoko.