Jawa keris pamor Adeg

SidJ · 30th July 2025, 09:58 PM

Hi
I seek views on this keris please. 36.5cm blade with pamor adeg in very very high relief. Apart from this the blade is waxy smooth. One piece scabbard with chatoyant timber. The pesi is completely encased in matted human hair even at its end. No cloth or other binding used at all. Any thoughts on age, dhapur and quality?

A. G. Maisey · 31st July 2025, 12:52 AM

A lot of people would call this pamor "Singkir" & immediately place it as Madura.

I am not able to be certain if working from photos, but I believe that in the hand I would not place this as Madura, but perhaps Central Jawa to East Jawa, meaning geographically anywhere between Solo & Surabaya. There does seem to be a Surakarta influence, but again, impossible to be sure from photos.

Age I think anywhere from mid-19th century to 1930's.

Present dress pre-WWII.

Dhapur originally made as Tilam Upih, however, at one time during its life it was found necessary --- or maybe somebody became careless --- & it got a pretty long bath in acid, that provided the high relief in the grain, it was then necessary to clean up the edges of the blade.

Being really strict we'd need to consider the overall state of preservation a bit deficient, but being a bit more relaxed we could think of the end result as pretty OK.

Not a bad Javanese "everyman's" keris.

SidJ · 31st July 2025, 01:14 AM

Thanks Alan
One thing I don't grasp is that if it was left in acid for too long then I would've thought the texture would be rough like sandpaper. It's waxy smooth though all over. No roughness at all. Can you achieve this with a long dip in acid?

A. G. Maisey · 31st July 2025, 02:20 AM

If a blade comes out of the cleaning bath with a rough texture you clean it off with an abrasive, in Bali they mostly use wet sand followed by limestone powder, in Solo I think most people use wet sand followed by "abu gosok" this is ash of, I'm not sure what, I think maybe kayu glugu --- coconut palm --- we use coconut husk fibre as the carrier.

SidJ · 31st July 2025, 11:11 AM

Thanks Alan,
So it's not the norm for this type of texture to be deliberately sought? It's unintended? And is the hair on the pesi of any note? The scabbard is a perfect fit and the blade slides in and locks in place but can still be removed easily as needed. Is pamor singkir a subset of Adeg or totally different? There's not a lot out there on its properties. Sorry for the multiple questions.

SidJ · 31st July 2025, 11:18 AM

Pic of ganja also textured in scabbard.

30th July 2025, 09:58 PM	#1
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 222	Jawa keris pamor Adeg Hi I seek views on this keris please. 36.5cm blade with pamor adeg in very very high relief. Apart from this the blade is waxy smooth. One piece scabbard with chatoyant timber. The pesi is completely encased in matted human hair even at its end. No cloth or other binding used at all. Any thoughts on age, dhapur and quality? Attached Images

31st July 2025, 11:18 AM	#6
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 222	Pic of ganja also textured in scabbard. Attached Images

31st July 2025, 12:52 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,047	A lot of people would call this pamor "Singkir" & immediately place it as Madura. I am not able to be certain if working from photos, but I believe that in the hand I would not place this as Madura, but perhaps Central Jawa to East Jawa, meaning geographically anywhere between Solo & Surabaya. There does seem to be a Surakarta influence, but again, impossible to be sure from photos. Age I think anywhere from mid-19th century to 1930's. Present dress pre-WWII. Dhapur originally made as Tilam Upih, however, at one time during its life it was found necessary --- or maybe somebody became careless --- & it got a pretty long bath in acid, that provided the high relief in the grain, it was then necessary to clean up the edges of the blade. Being really strict we'd need to consider the overall state of preservation a bit deficient, but being a bit more relaxed we could think of the end result as pretty OK. Not a bad Javanese "everyman's" keris.

31st July 2025, 01:14 AM	#3
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 222	Thanks Alan One thing I don't grasp is that if it was left in acid for too long then I would've thought the texture would be rough like sandpaper. It's waxy smooth though all over. No roughness at all. Can you achieve this with a long dip in acid?

31st July 2025, 02:20 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,047	If a blade comes out of the cleaning bath with a rough texture you clean it off with an abrasive, in Bali they mostly use wet sand followed by limestone powder, in Solo I think most people use wet sand followed by "abu gosok" this is ash of, I'm not sure what, I think maybe kayu glugu --- coconut palm --- we use coconut husk fibre as the carrier.

31st July 2025, 11:11 AM	#5
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 222	Thanks Alan, So it's not the norm for this type of texture to be deliberately sought? It's unintended? And is the hair on the pesi of any note? The scabbard is a perfect fit and the blade slides in and locks in place but can still be removed easily as needed. Is pamor singkir a subset of Adeg or totally different? There's not a lot out there on its properties. Sorry for the multiple questions.