Bali keris hilt - to glue or thread?

[marto suwignyo]

Mr. Battara

In olden times the handles of keris were most often fixed to the pesi with damar. I have read that in pre war Malaya people used melted gramaphone records to fix keris handles in place.

These days, we do sometimes use jabung, which a mixture of damar, wax and ground terracotta, to fix a handle with a short or thin pesi. This can be easily removed if it necessary by gentle application of heat to the sorsoran.

Sometimes hair has been used.

If your keris has a normally strong pesi, and if it Bali keris it probably will have, you should just use a pressure fit, as everybody else has already said.However, rather than use cloth I suggest that you use knitting wool.
Cloth does not compress very well, and if the handle too tight it might split.

[nechesh]

Gee Ariel, why don't you tell us what you really think about us "Kris people". I trust this was not meant with any derogatory intention. No offense taken.
Marto is, of course, right. Other more "fixed" methods of hilt attachment have been used. I had always heard of pitch being used. Is that the same stuff as the damar you mention Marto? Certainly it would make sense that any keris that might end up being used martially would need to have a well adhered handle to be at all useful. But as Marto points out, these other materials used are not nearly as permanent as epoxy of the dreaded Crazy Glue. Just heat and gentle manipulation will free the blade.
The keris seems a fairly unique weapon (in many ways really) in that the removal and changability of many of it's parts (hilt, mendak, wrongko) are actually a part of the culture surrounding the blade, whether to signify some reward or added prominence in life or the changing of hands from one owner to the next. And as Henk points out, regular cleansing ceromonies require the blade be removed from the hilt.
Wow, i actually got through this entire post without using a horror icon! ........damn!

[Andrew]

An interesting and helpful thread. I'd love to see it stay open, gentlemen.

[BluErf]

Use thick nylon thread. Nylon thread repels moisture, unlike cotton cloth or thread, which actually absorbs moisture. And we all know what moisture does to kerises...

[marto suwignyo]

Nylon does not compress.

It even more dangerous to use nylon than to use cloth.

My recommendation was for wool. That is wool as produced by sheep.

[kai]

Wool may be better in a humid climate than cotton but also more prone to insect damage... How about using synthetic "wool" threads (made from nylon or some other plastic)? [I guess this is what BluErf meant with "thick nylon threads" rather than solid angling line.]

However, I doubt that the wrapping material makes any difference for those of us with indoor humidity of, say, around 70% or lower (and fairly stable temperatures).

Regards,
Kai

[BluErf]

Yes, the thick nylon thread I was referring to is not the clear angling sort. It is made up of many smaller strands twisted together to get a thicker thread. It can be compressed.

I guess the point is that regardless of material used to wrap the peksi, the wrapping must provide some tolerance -- i.e. a snug fit, but the hilt can be twisted without too much effort.

Picture of the thick nylon thread I was referring to.