Jaga, in my opinion the tangguh system is a system of belief that was developed to provide a more or less consistent approach to the classification & appraisal of certain items of value(ie, keris).
However, there is no overall consistency in the structure of the tangguh systems --- there is more than one.
I was taught the system that was the one in use in the Surakarta Karaton, and the Boworoso Tosan Aji Keris Study Society, and in Solo in general during the period from late colonial era until 1995, my teacher passed away in 1995 & I do not know if the system I was taught is still unchanged to today. I think it is still pretty much the same, but all the people who contributed to my understanding have passed away, and I am not a part of the new generation of keris literate people.
I think that perhaps the most useful way to approach the idea of tangguh, for somebody who lives outside Central Jawa, and who is a collector or student of the keris, is to understand how the system is structured and how it is applied, but not to try to apply it.
Again, my opinion, other opinions may vary, Centhini and other similar texts are all valuable foundation information. I have often said that we cannot understand the keris in the absence of having an understanding of the related culture & society. These older traditional texts will assist in gaining that essential Javanese Worldview.
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