SJ, I am very sorry if my writing has caused you some confusion, I will try to remedy this.
In essence we are talking about preservation of ferric material.
There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved, but the basic principles are that we need to isolate the ferric material from agents that can generate corrosion.
One of those agents is cellulose material.
Wood is a cellulose material.
So we are well advised to ensure that if we wish to prevent corrosion occurring in ferric material, we do not store that ferric material in a situation where it is in contact with wood.
Of course there are other agents that can cause corrosion in ferric material and many ways of isolating the ferric material from the corrosive agents.
One of cheapest, more practical, and lowest in cost of those anti-corrosive systems is the application of oil to the surface of the ferric material.
Where a piece of oiled ferric material is inserted into a wooden cover, the wood of the cover will absorb and eventually become saturated with the oil that transferred from the ferric material, it will become so saturated that the oil will form a barrier between the cellulose material which is wood, and the ferric material, which might be a keris or any other type of blade.
I am most definitely not recommending the insertion of oiled blades into wooden scabbards, my recommendations in respect of the storage of blades have remained virtually unchanged for many years and have been published many times in a number of places.
I have found that a very practical method of protection for blades made from ferric material is that the oiled blade be kept in a plastic envelope and preferably out of the blade's scabbard.
It would seem that my comments in respect of the cultural value of keris dress were also insufficiently precise to provide a clear understanding of my meaning, and I do apologise for any misunderstanding or confusion my brevity might have caused.
I will try to do better.
In Javanese thought the only part of a complete keris that has true cultural value is the blade, the wilah.
It is the blade that links the seen & unseen worlds, it is the blade that ties the present generation to past generations, it is the blade that is iconic of Siwa , it is the blade that is iconic of the Gunungan, and thus of Mount Meru which is Mount Kailash, dwelling place of the ancestors and the Gods. Only the blade can be considered to be sacred.
The dress for the blade is no more important than clothing is for a man.
In the case of a man, and of a keris, that clothing is subject to certain societal dictates, and in terms of the "cultural" value of keris dress, it is these societal dictates that form the framework within which the dress components of a keris find their function.
However, in strict terms, these dictates are societal, rather than cultural, yes, there is a very fine line between societal standards and cultural values, and sometimes it might be a little difficult to identify that line, but in the case of keris dress we are addressing a societal standard, rather than a cultural value.
One of the ongoing problems associated with the keris is that there are many perspectives from which the keris may be assessed. For those people who are not a part of keris society the manner in which they perceive the keris is very, very different to the manner in which an experienced person who is a part of keris society will perceive the same keris.
The dress of a keris is something that relates to the hierarchical position and personal tastes of the custodian of the keris, it is no more important in the cultural value of the keris than is the setagen that a man winds around his waist.
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