Thank you for your contribution to discussion , David.
Gronemann probably did have some effect in line with your comments, but nickel was present in Javanese keris production from at least the time of Majapahit, because of the presence of nickel bearing material imported from Sulawesi.
I do understand that you might be reluctant to comment on Javanese perceptions of the keris, because of your lack of personal contact, but I also feel that because of your long contact with the keris, and the reading that you have undertaken, you would have formed some personal opinions of the way in which Javanese people may regard the keris.
As I said in post #1, there are no "rights" and no "wrongs" in this matter, we are talking about opinions, it is of no importance at all if an opinion can be shown to be incorrect, and of even less importance if it can be shown to be correct. This is a matter of external influences on the way Javanese people see the keris. It doesn't matter if what we think or say is wrong, what matters is the way we perceive something to be.
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