My First Kris

[David]

Originally Posted by arsendaday

So one CAN and SHOULD try to bend the blade, while trying to determine the quality of the steel, without being afraid to break it.

Remind me to keep you far away from my collection of antique blades.
Seriously though, i am afraid that the reason i collect keris is not to determine the degree of strength in the steel. I would never risk bending one of my blades. Testing new blades that come off the production line for service as you mention with Soviet Shashkas make some sense, however i would not recommend that anyone ever put antique weapons they care about though stress or cut testing.
Obviously keris and kris were not made to be as flexible as the Shashka and i don't see any purpose in putting them through such testing.