Thank you all for taking the time to post your opinions on this piece. I feel I have a much clearer idea now of what I have.
My Grandfather wasn't a knowlegeable collector, and brought back from his travels a whole mulligan stew of items including spear, blow gun, shields, and a variety of swords and knives. (unfortunately most of which was lost when my Grandma had a yard sale to get rid of "junk") But he had money to spend. This keris may well have been bought as a souvenier. I don't know.
I've had quite a bit of experience with metal finishing and patination--I've done some gunsmithing, antique restoration, etc. And I'm a pretty finicky craftsman. I think I can probably do the cleaning and staining myself. I don't assume it is a highly technical skill such as repolishing a Japanese blade. I'll do some research about the procedure and see what I can come up with. If I am successful, I'll post the results.
Thanks again for all your help.
DD
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