Meteoric Patrem-Made In England...

lemmythesmith · 23rd September 2007, 03:33 PM

Hello to everyone!! Here's a little patrem that I've forged from Campo Del Cielo meteorite and old wrought iron with a steel core. The wrongko is thuya burl and the gandar is ebony. Ivory ukiran in the Durga/Dewa Sri/Wadon form. Mendak in sterling silver.
I used 325g of iron salvaged from Windsor Castle after the fire, 190g of Campo meteorite and 90g of Kango (jackhammer chisel) for the steel core. Pamor of 170 or so layers in a "ladder" pattern which has turned out quite reflective, got a little carried away with a complex ricikan which looking back (hindsight is always 20/20!) was a little ambitious, still, I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot too!! I think I'll steer clear of complex dapor for a while and concentrate on getting the overall shape right!! There wasn't an overall plan for this keris what you see sort of just "happened" with the constituent parts coming together because I liked the style or shape of them, hence the "hybrid" form!!

David · 23rd September 2007, 04:23 PM

Quite nice for a Brit Keris.

And finally a keris that we can say for sure is made with meteoric pamor.

Did you also make the dress?

lemmythesmith · 23rd September 2007, 05:03 PM

Hi David, aye, it's all my work... though I may be buying mendak instead of making them-too many blades to try to take time off to fiddle with silver!!

Michel · 23rd September 2007, 08:15 PM

Hi lemmythesmith
A superb work ! Congratulation. Wrought iron + meteorite + steel, that must have been a nice exercise to heat weld.
I am curious to know what is the weight of the keris blade . You had 615 g of metal originally, how much has been lost in the forging process ( and stock removal !)
I am very impressed because I am in a similar process but I am sure no way close to your result.
Good job keep doing it.
Michel

A. G. Maisey · 23rd September 2007, 10:35 PM

Nice forge-work, Lemmy.

Raden Usman Djogja · 24th September 2007, 12:39 PM

bravoooooo

ganjawulung · 8th October 2007, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemmythesmith

Hello to everyone!! Here's a little patrem that I've forged from Campo Del Cielo meteorite and old wrought iron with a steel core. The wrongko is thuya burl and the gandar is ebony. Ivory ukiran in the Durga/Dewa Sri/Wadon form. Mendak in sterling silver.
I used 325g of iron salvaged from Windsor Castle after the fire, 190g of Campo meteorite and 90g of Kango (jackhammer chisel) for the steel core. Pamor of 170 or so layers in a "ladder" pattern which has turned out quite reflective, got a little carried away with a complex ricikan which looking back (hindsight is always 20/20!) was a little ambitious, still, I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot too!! I think I'll steer clear of complex dapor for a while and concentrate on getting the overall shape right!! There wasn't an overall plan for this keris what you see sort of just "happened" with the constituent parts coming together because I liked the style or shape of them, hence the "hybrid" form!!

Dear Lemmy,

Really, it is worth to be included in the next Keris Ensiklopedi... I like your sogokan. Not deep, like the old jalak budo sogokan. Also very good-looking kruwingan. Where is your signature? In the form of rondha?

Ganjawulung

lemmythesmith · 9th October 2007, 09:44 PM

Hi all! Ganja-many thanks! A jalak budo is on my "to do" list! My signature is more on the peksi, a little stupa.....

David · 20th March 2008, 01:25 AM

I'm not sure if this is the best thread for this, but it does allow everyone to gawk at Lemmy's work once again.
Here is an interesting video showing the forging process of a keris. I just can't imaging how they did this before power tools.

http://kerisologi.multiply.com/video...n_Keris_bag.01

Michel · 7th April 2008, 03:14 PM

A long time ago, I started to forge a kris. I made several error in my forging and ended with a very small blade. To avoid wasting all my efforts, I decided to transform this heat welded blade in a kris patrem. Alan had told us : most of the work in kris forging, in not the forging but chiseling and filing. How right is he. Forging was not more than 5 to 10 % in time.
Once the blade completed (with errors !) I treated it not with acid, but with sulfur and salt and here is the result. I had to make the the necessary sarong and hulu adapted to its size. The total kris is only 23 cm long and the blade 14cm. This is also a lot of filing !
The mendak is the smallest I had in my reserves and I doubt I could find anything smaller even in Jogjakarta.
To work on such a small kris, does not make the work easy. Everything is so small that I have temporarily renounced to the small sculptures decorating the handle.
One thing is certain: my respect for the work of Alan and Lemythesmith has been multiplied by a factor.

A. G. Maisey · 7th April 2008, 07:39 PM

Not bad Michel, not bad at all. The first keris that I made was made before I ever took instruction from Pak Parman, and its not as good as yours.

The sulphur and salt will not stain a blade, it will only reveal topographic variation in the material. There is a non-arsenic etch that will give a blade some colour, which is sulphur and rice water. I used this a few times more than 50 years ago, but never on a new blade, only on old ones, and it worked more or less OK. I mixed the stuff to a paste and applied it to the blade, then wrapped the blade in plastic sandwich wrap. It took about a week to work.

Something that collectors of both keris and conventional knives do not appreciate or understand is that the work involved in making a good quality small blade is at least as great, possibly greater, than the work involved in making a good quality normal sized blade, and the skill level required is definitely greater. Very good quality small keris blades are frequently more expensive than very good quality normal size blades, and certainly much more scarce, but try selling them on a western market.

23rd September 2007, 03:33 PM	#1
lemmythesmith Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 93	Meteoric Patrem-Made In England... Hello to everyone!! Here's a little patrem that I've forged from Campo Del Cielo meteorite and old wrought iron with a steel core. The wrongko is thuya burl and the gandar is ebony. Ivory ukiran in the Durga/Dewa Sri/Wadon form. Mendak in sterling silver. I used 325g of iron salvaged from Windsor Castle after the fire, 190g of Campo meteorite and 90g of Kango (jackhammer chisel) for the steel core. Pamor of 170 or so layers in a "ladder" pattern which has turned out quite reflective, got a little carried away with a complex ricikan which looking back (hindsight is always 20/20!) was a little ambitious, still, I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot too!! I think I'll steer clear of complex dapor for a while and concentrate on getting the overall shape right!! There wasn't an overall plan for this keris what you see sort of just "happened" with the constituent parts coming together because I liked the style or shape of them, hence the "hybrid" form!! Attached Images

23rd September 2007, 08:15 PM	#4
Michel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Switzerland Posts: 139	Bravo Hi lemmythesmith A superb work ! Congratulation. Wrought iron + meteorite + steel, that must have been a nice exercise to heat weld. I am curious to know what is the weight of the keris blade . You had 615 g of metal originally, how much has been lost in the forging process ( and stock removal !) I am very impressed because I am in a similar process but I am sure no way close to your result. Good job keep doing it. Michel

24th September 2007, 12:39 PM	#6
Raden Usman Djogja Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 199	BRAVO bravoooooo

9th October 2007, 09:44 PM	#8
lemmythesmith Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 93	Hi all! Ganja-many thanks! A jalak budo is on my "to do" list! My signature is more on the peksi, a little stupa..... Attached Images

7th April 2008, 03:14 PM	#10
Michel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Switzerland Posts: 139	Kris making.. a long and difficult process ! A long time ago, I started to forge a kris. I made several error in my forging and ended with a very small blade. To avoid wasting all my efforts, I decided to transform this heat welded blade in a kris patrem. Alan had told us : most of the work in kris forging, in not the forging but chiseling and filing. How right is he. Forging was not more than 5 to 10 % in time. Once the blade completed (with errors !) I treated it not with acid, but with sulfur and salt and here is the result. I had to make the the necessary sarong and hulu adapted to its size. The total kris is only 23 cm long and the blade 14cm. This is also a lot of filing ! The mendak is the smallest I had in my reserves and I doubt I could find anything smaller even in Jogjakarta. To work on such a small kris, does not make the work easy. Everything is so small that I have temporarily renounced to the small sculptures decorating the handle. One thing is certain: my respect for the work of Alan and Lemythesmith has been multiplied by a factor. Attached Images

23rd September 2007, 04:23 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,115	Quite nice for a Brit Keris. And finally a keris that we can say for sure is made with meteoric pamor. Did you also make the dress?

23rd September 2007, 05:03 PM	#3
lemmythesmith Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 93	Hi David, aye, it's all my work... though I may be buying mendak instead of making them-too many blades to try to take time off to fiddle with silver!!

23rd September 2007, 10:35 PM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,882	Nice forge-work, Lemmy.

20th March 2008, 01:25 AM	#9
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,115	I'm not sure if this is the best thread for this, but it does allow everyone to gawk at Lemmy's work once again. Here is an interesting video showing the forging process of a keris. I just can't imaging how they did this before power tools. http://kerisologi.multiply.com/video...n_Keris_bag.01

7th April 2008, 07:39 PM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,882	Not bad Michel, not bad at all. The first keris that I made was made before I ever took instruction from Pak Parman, and its not as good as yours. The sulphur and salt will not stain a blade, it will only reveal topographic variation in the material. There is a non-arsenic etch that will give a blade some colour, which is sulphur and rice water. I used this a few times more than 50 years ago, but never on a new blade, only on old ones, and it worked more or less OK. I mixed the stuff to a paste and applied it to the blade, then wrapped the blade in plastic sandwich wrap. It took about a week to work. Something that collectors of both keris and conventional knives do not appreciate or understand is that the work involved in making a good quality small blade is at least as great, possibly greater, than the work involved in making a good quality normal sized blade, and the skill level required is definitely greater. Very good quality small keris blades are frequently more expensive than very good quality normal size blades, and certainly much more scarce, but try selling them on a western market.