Some Photos

A. G. Maisey · 3rd June 2009, 05:25 AM

I recently published some additions to the gallery in my site.

For the most part these are not photos of keris or other weapons, however, a number of people who have viewed these photographs expressed the opinion that I should make them available to a wider audience than those who routinely visit my site.

Here are the links:-

Forge work:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/BANDIFORGE.html

Karaton Surakarta:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/karat...artapageI.html

Musium Radya Pustaka:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/radyapustaka.html

Jason Anstey · 3rd June 2009, 06:21 AM

THanks Alan!

Great stuff, I particularly enjoyed the forging story and pics!

Cheers

Jason

G. McCormack · 3rd June 2009, 03:50 PM

Great forging action shots, Alan!

David · 3rd June 2009, 04:13 PM

Thanks Alan. Great stuff all around. Will you be leaving these up on your site for a while? I am sure they will generate at least a few questions.

lemmythesmith · 3rd June 2009, 10:39 PM

Hi Alan, love it!! Is Bapak Subandi smelting his own iron? Bloomery iron is so much nicer to work with than puddled wrought iron! I like the "shields" either side of the anvil to protect against sparks and welding dross.

A. G. Maisey · 4th June 2009, 01:08 AM

Thanks for your comments gentlemen.

Yes, the pics will stay up. I've got more capacity in my site than I could ever use, so my objective is to continually add photos as time permits, and as I put them up, I'll leave them there indefinitely.

Bandi was involved in a couple of smelts, but he does not routinely smelt iron. The keris which he normally makes do not use this iron, and if it were requested, I'm certain that the asking price would be beyond any reasonable level. I showed the product of the smelt here simply as an illustration.

Lemmy, the way in which smiths and strikers work in Indonesia is a source of wonder to me.
Yes, the shields are a good idea, but if you wear boots and an apron they are not necessary. Of course, boots and apron are well outside the budget in Indonesia, so the shields are maybe more appropriate, but they do make effective use of tools more difficult.
As does the design of the tools themselves. Using a heavy hammer the most effective way is to place yourself so that on the strike you finish with your right hand at the end of the handle and against your hip bone, you then kick the hammer with your hip at the same time that you lift for the next strike. Using a hammer like this means you can use a few kilos more than you can without using the hip lift.
In Jawa, the handles on heavy hammers are often too short, and are made from either rough timber or two pieces of split bambu wired together. This means you cannot slide your hand on the handle, and every strike is from a dead lift of the hammer. Then you add in the factor of standing at arms length from the anvil. The whole exercise becomes very, very difficult.

Pauzan used to have a wonderful striker. This bloke was about 55-60 kilos wringing wet and five foot nothing tall, and when he was working for Pauzan he was already well into his 50's. He used a 20 lb hammer on the typical short little handle. His method of use was to act as the fulcrum of a pendulum:- he didn't lift the hammer, he'd strike, let the hammer slide off the billet, swing between his legs, and use the swing to bring it down again. More than one way to skin a cat.

3rd June 2009, 05:25 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,882	Some Photos I recently published some additions to the gallery in my site. For the most part these are not photos of keris or other weapons, however, a number of people who have viewed these photographs expressed the opinion that I should make them available to a wider audience than those who routinely visit my site. Here are the links:- Forge work:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/BANDIFORGE.html Karaton Surakarta:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/karat...artapageI.html Musium Radya Pustaka:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/radyapustaka.html

3rd June 2009, 06:21 AM	#2
Jason Anstey Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 102	THanks Alan! Great stuff, I particularly enjoyed the forging story and pics! Cheers Jason

3rd June 2009, 03:50 PM	#3
G. McCormack Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 131	Great forging action shots, Alan!

3rd June 2009, 04:13 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,115	Thanks Alan. Great stuff all around. Will you be leaving these up on your site for a while? I am sure they will generate at least a few questions.

3rd June 2009, 10:39 PM	#5
lemmythesmith Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 93	Hi Alan, love it!! Is Bapak Subandi smelting his own iron? Bloomery iron is so much nicer to work with than puddled wrought iron! I like the "shields" either side of the anvil to protect against sparks and welding dross.

4th June 2009, 01:08 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,882	Thanks for your comments gentlemen. Yes, the pics will stay up. I've got more capacity in my site than I could ever use, so my objective is to continually add photos as time permits, and as I put them up, I'll leave them there indefinitely. Bandi was involved in a couple of smelts, but he does not routinely smelt iron. The keris which he normally makes do not use this iron, and if it were requested, I'm certain that the asking price would be beyond any reasonable level. I showed the product of the smelt here simply as an illustration. Lemmy, the way in which smiths and strikers work in Indonesia is a source of wonder to me. Yes, the shields are a good idea, but if you wear boots and an apron they are not necessary. Of course, boots and apron are well outside the budget in Indonesia, so the shields are maybe more appropriate, but they do make effective use of tools more difficult. As does the design of the tools themselves. Using a heavy hammer the most effective way is to place yourself so that on the strike you finish with your right hand at the end of the handle and against your hip bone, you then kick the hammer with your hip at the same time that you lift for the next strike. Using a hammer like this means you can use a few kilos more than you can without using the hip lift. In Jawa, the handles on heavy hammers are often too short, and are made from either rough timber or two pieces of split bambu wired together. This means you cannot slide your hand on the handle, and every strike is from a dead lift of the hammer. Then you add in the factor of standing at arms length from the anvil. The whole exercise becomes very, very difficult. Pauzan used to have a wonderful striker. This bloke was about 55-60 kilos wringing wet and five foot nothing tall, and when he was working for Pauzan he was already well into his 50's. He used a 20 lb hammer on the typical short little handle. His method of use was to act as the fulcrum of a pendulum:- he didn't lift the hammer, he'd strike, let the hammer slide off the billet, swing between his legs, and use the swing to bring it down again. More than one way to skin a cat.