Hello Norman,
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I think there is no doubt that this is not the epitome of the Rencong makers art, but I do think if a piece was made as a wedding object in some respects it would be better executed that this knife. I don't know about Rencong but Dirks and Swords made for weddings here tend to be elaborately made with much attention to detail rather than the well made but more workmanlike needs of a working knife.
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AFAIK, even those ugly tourist rencong (as well as "keris" of similar "quality") are nowadays worn at weddings. Apparently, they are not important enough anymore to most people of the current generation to invest too much thoughts and money into them...
In the old days, people would have been married wearing the best rencong they could afford. My working hypothesis is that this piece was crafted after the rencong had lost its function as a weapon and the bladesmith's skill level had already degenerated.
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This piece has without a doubt been sharpened on many occasions
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Most of the scratches I see could also be left from the original shaping of the blade rather than successive sharpening attempts. I'm not sure on this though - any ideas?
Regards,
Kai