Keris for comment

A. G. Maisey · 26th June 2012, 10:44 PM

Gene, I also would probably not restain this keris. Generally the inclination of most collectors is to try to bring a keris to a premium condition of stain, but unless one has access to a first class m'ranggi, or possesses the knowledge and skill to do a first class job himself, it is probably not a good idea to restain a blade when it still has a more or less acceptable appearance.

It takes a lot of practice to be able to do a good stain job, and the option of sending a blade to Indonesia for staining is in my opinion not really an option at all, because what you get is a very inferior commercial job that often leaves the blade looking worse than it did before the job was done. Its cheap enough, certainly, but you get what you pay for.

It is possible for a really good stain job to take a skilled m'ranggi two or three days to do, and I'm talking working time, not expired time. However, to get access to the people who work at this high-class level is not easy and you probably need to be a part of a local keris community to know who to approach.

26th June 2012, 10:44 PM	#26
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Gene, I also would probably not restain this keris. Generally the inclination of most collectors is to try to bring a keris to a premium condition of stain, but unless one has access to a first class m'ranggi, or possesses the knowledge and skill to do a first class job himself, it is probably not a good idea to restain a blade when it still has a more or less acceptable appearance. It takes a lot of practice to be able to do a good stain job, and the option of sending a blade to Indonesia for staining is in my opinion not really an option at all, because what you get is a very inferior commercial job that often leaves the blade looking worse than it did before the job was done. Its cheap enough, certainly, but you get what you pay for. It is possible for a really good stain job to take a skilled m'ranggi two or three days to do, and I'm talking working time, not expired time. However, to get access to the people who work at this high-class level is not easy and you probably need to be a part of a local keris community to know who to approach.