New Keris/Keris baru

ariel · 21st June 2012, 11:17 AM

Dear Alan,
Many thanks!
More questions:

- How does one recognize hilt material as "shell"? I am mostly into Islamic ( broadly speaking) swords and have never seen shell handle. Any specific features I should be looking for? How to clean it properly?

- Cleaning the blades. Even I understand that sandpaper is an absolute no-no :-) Would toothbrush with WD-40 be sufficient? How to stain them afterwards? Not arsenic, I hope?

- Based on what you see ( or any new pics, if needed), the condition of the blades, styles etc, any wild guess how old they might be?

A. G. Maisey · 21st June 2012, 02:45 PM

The "shell" used for keris hilts is the thick base section of giant clam. It is heavy, like stone, hard, white, dead cold in the hand. It is far heavier than ivory or bone or denatured antler.

To clean it depends on what is making it dirty. I usually start by rubbing with baby oil and work up from there to more volatile substances. You do need a bit of experience to understand what will help and what will hinder, but you've probably already got this from working on other weapons.

There have been thousands of words written in this forum on how to clean and stain keris blades. I don't know where all the threads are, but probably somebody who keeps notes will be able to help. Sorry, I don't keep any record or note of anything I just answer each matter as it arises.

Ariel, with keris we really don't talk in terms of "how old", we talk in terms of "classification", or "tangguh". Most people like to use the tangguh system as representative of age, and to a limited degree this can work, but the further back in time that we move from today, the less realistic is the estimate of age. I am not prepared to give an estimate of age on any of your keris, except to say that they are old. They are not "good keris", as has often been discussed here, but they are very solid examples that could form the basis of a serious collection.

tunggulametung · 22nd June 2012, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

How does one recognize hilt material as "shell"?

please search for tridacna, it might help, it has been discussed several times here

ariel · 24th June 2012, 04:20 AM

Yup, you are correct. Same appearance.
Tridacna.... Never would have thought....
Thanks to both of you!

Rick · 24th June 2012, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Yup, you are correct. Same appearance.
Tridacna.... Never would have thought....
Thanks to both of you!

Lucky bugger ...

21st June 2012, 11:17 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Dear Alan, Many thanks! More questions: - How does one recognize hilt material as "shell"? I am mostly into Islamic ( broadly speaking) swords and have never seen shell handle. Any specific features I should be looking for? How to clean it properly? - Cleaning the blades. Even I understand that sandpaper is an absolute no-no :-) Would toothbrush with WD-40 be sufficient? How to stain them afterwards? Not arsenic, I hope? - Based on what you see ( or any new pics, if needed), the condition of the blades, styles etc, any wild guess how old they might be? Last edited by ariel; 21st June 2012 at 11:46 AM.

21st June 2012, 02:45 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,048	The "shell" used for keris hilts is the thick base section of giant clam. It is heavy, like stone, hard, white, dead cold in the hand. It is far heavier than ivory or bone or denatured antler. To clean it depends on what is making it dirty. I usually start by rubbing with baby oil and work up from there to more volatile substances. You do need a bit of experience to understand what will help and what will hinder, but you've probably already got this from working on other weapons. There have been thousands of words written in this forum on how to clean and stain keris blades. I don't know where all the threads are, but probably somebody who keeps notes will be able to help. Sorry, I don't keep any record or note of anything I just answer each matter as it arises. Ariel, with keris we really don't talk in terms of "how old", we talk in terms of "classification", or "tangguh". Most people like to use the tangguh system as representative of age, and to a limited degree this can work, but the further back in time that we move from today, the less realistic is the estimate of age. I am not prepared to give an estimate of age on any of your keris, except to say that they are old. They are not "good keris", as has often been discussed here, but they are very solid examples that could form the basis of a serious collection.

24th June 2012, 04:20 AM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Yup, you are correct. Same appearance. Tridacna.... Never would have thought.... Thanks to both of you!