A gamble, your opinion?

[David]

The photos give me the impression that the kinatah is brass, but this can be very deceptive. I hope that you find otherwise once you have the keris in hand.
If the story were correct and this was brought back from WW2 you would have done quite well on this one, as this would then have to be a pre-WW2 blade. That might be just a bit too good a deal to hold out hope for, i'm afraid...