Whats the perfect length....

[Pusaka]

When an Empu makes a keris he decides how long that blade should be. What is it that he takes that measurement from, how does he decide?

[Alam Shah]

Imho, it's subjective...many factors affect the length of the 'perfect' keris blade. To me, it differs for each individual, a personal feel...

In the olden days, the form of the blade, the martial arts practiced and the physical size of the practitioner does influence what is deemed to be a perfect length. For the empu, the date/time of birth, occupation...etc which does influenced the end result.

Besides this, regional differences also affects the length of the blade. For example, in general, the sumatran blades are shorter than the javanese blades (of course there are exceptions and not considering the keris panjang). Therefore, this question would not get a single definitive length answer.

However, my personal preference based on silat form practised would be 12" - 13.5", Malay/Bugis blade form preferred.

[nechesh]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

When an Empu makes a keris he decides how long that blade should be. What is it that he takes that measurement from, how does he decide?

Alam Shah makes some good points. When you ask this question you must ask more and be prepared to find no sure answers since much of this information has been lost to the ages. An empu from which region and from which period? The keris and it's traditions are not a static thing and Indonesia is culturally diverse inspite of now being one nation. There is no universal tradition for all empus throughout the ages.