A Moro Kriss with a Blade of Unusual Construction

[CharlesS]

This is a Moro kriss I have had for a while, but only recently had polished by a forumite. When I first bought the kriss I assumed its balde was of pattern welded construction with a typical heat tempered edge based on what I could see in the unpolished blade.

The polish showed something quite different and unique, especially for a Moro blade.

The blade is of three part "sandwich" construction(sanmei) with a hardened core running completely through the center and enveloped by two plates of softer pattern welded steel, something more typically seen in Chinese and Japanese swords.

I can't help but wonder if this feature was incorporated from Chinese or even Japanese influence.

[ThePepperSkull]

I don't think this is as widely 'advertised'/'featured' in the collections of blades from the malay world, but from what I have seen this is a blade construction style that has made its way around. It makes me wonder about its origins as well.

There is a modern Indonesian smith named Mang Ako who lives in Tasikmalaya, Jawa that some people over on other forums swear by (They use his blades as 'fancy' ethnographic alternatives to more common camping or survival blades. Most prefer his Parang Lading, which I must say is quite attractive for newer-made pieces), and he refers to this construction as "balik mipih". So at least we know in Indonesia it is a construction style used frequently enough that there is a term for it.

I have also seen this sandwich construction used on a Pira I own. Upon examining the spine, there are clear weld marks that indicate that softer metals have been welded to the outside of the centre, stronger metal.

Also, a Gasah (Older form pira) I own as well has the sandwich construction apparent closer to the edge, where the layered outer steel makes way for the harder inner steel.

I wonder if the Pandays (Pandayan?) of older Mindanao/Sulu had a specific name for "sanmai"/"balik mipih".


PS: The Mammoth/Elephant molar pommel and silver weaving/banding is the icing on the cake... or kris as the case may be. Either way, color me envious. Beautiful piece.

I've only ever seen a Molar pommel on a moro piece from Jose's collection. I believe it was a Samal Barung.

[Rick]

Isn't this the same type of construction ?

[KuKulzA28]

Originally Posted by ThePepperSkull

There is a modern Indonesian smith named Mang Ako who lives in Tasikmalaya, Jawa that some people over on other forums swear by (They use his blades as 'fancy' ethnographic alternatives to more common camping or survival blades. Most prefer his Parang Lading, which I must say is quite attractive for newer-made pieces), and he refers to this construction as "balik mipih". So at least we know in Indonesia it is a construction style used frequently enough that there is a term for it.

I do swear by him, . His balik mipih is "Indonesian san mai damascus steel". I don't know if this was learned elsewhere by him or has been the intellectual property of him and his teacher and teacher's teacher for a long time.. In any case he is a pretty skilled smith.

But just a question, how can you tell if something is san-mai? I don't know what to look for. San-mai means there's 3 layers right?

[David]

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

I do swear by him, . His balik mipih is "Indonesian san mai damascus steel". I don't know if this was learned elsewhere by him or has been the intellectual property of him and his teacher and teacher's teacher for a long time.. In any case he is a pretty skilled smith.

But just a question, how can you tell if something is san-mai? I don't know what to look for. San-mai means there's 3 layers right?

Do you have any photos of this balik mipih work?

[KuKulzA28]

Originally Posted by David

Do you have any photos of this balik mipih work?

Yes. Here's my pedang/klewang. It's the same style as those Sumatran/Lombok blades with the makara hilts, but obviously with a Javanese flair to it. Check it out. And yea, Mang Ako made it (I feel that might be his nickname, btw).

[David]

Nice contemporary parang...

[CharlesS]

Rick can you show the whole blade, including the tip?

[Rick]

Hi Charles,
I'll try for a shot of the whole blade tomorrow .

[Rick]

Full picture .

[kai]

Hello Charles,

When I first bought the kriss I assumed its balde was of pattern welded construction with a typical heat tempered edge based on what I could see in the unpolished blade.

The polish showed something quite different and unique, especially for a Moro blade.

The blade is of three part "sandwich" construction(sanmei) with a hardened core running completely through the center and enveloped by two plates of softer pattern welded steel, something more typically seen in Chinese and Japanese swords.

I can't help but wonder if this feature was incorporated from Chinese or even Japanese influence.

I'm with TPS: No need to consider outside influence for a technique that has been good ol' bladesmith practise throughout the archipelago for centuries. The vast majority of antique blades of all sizes has a harder steel edge stabilized by softer mild steel/iron/pamor layer(s). Except for a very few examples crafted from western monosteel, all antique moro kris that I have examined show such a steel core (sandwich/sanmei construction) as do many of the single-edged swords; some of the single-edged swords have an inserted steel edge ("hotdog" construction) though.

Regards,
Kai