Identifying Pamor for a First Keris

[QuisUtDeus]

Sorry! I really messed up the measurement. I meant in inches about 13.5. Cm is about 34.5.

[JustYS]

Hi QuisUtDeus,

I just started collecting Keris like yourself, so probably cannot comment too much, but I like your Keris.

It seems that you have what we call a dwiwarno pamor (combination of 2 pamors in one Keris). One is Beras Wutah, the other not so sure maybe Ilining Warih, maybe Wengkon.

Cheers,

Yohan

[David]

Originally Posted by JustYS

It seems that you have what we call a dwiwarno pamor (combination of 2 pamors in one Keris). One is Beras Wutah, the other not so sure maybe Ilining Warih, maybe Wengkon.

Sorry Yohan, but i do not see dwi warno pamor here.

[JustYS]

Originally Posted by David

Sorry Yohan, but i do not see dwi warno pamor here.

Ok my bad, I thought I saw dwiwarno pamor from the first photo, but yes the photo is not very clear.

Cheers,

Yohan

[QuisUtDeus]

The forum experience has been excellent! Thanks all!

If I get addicted enough to the hobby I'll take a trip to Indonesia during my next vacation to the Philippines. It must only be an hour or two away. I can wait to get a custom fit scabbard until then. I'll get the blade stained again if I like. I'm very fond of the food and kretek cigars, already. My cousin says the mestiza girls are pretty. I've found a lot of great books available there I'd like to buy.

I'm at work again. I can't wait to get off and see what more comes up here!

Thanks, everyone.

[A. G. Maisey]

I apologise for my late arrival to this thread.

I can see very little, if anything, of Bali in this blade. I do not see a current era blade, and I am inclined to the assumption that it is very probably of Lombok origin.

Flight time from Manilla to Jakarta is about 4 hours, add the 3 hour lead in time on international flights, the time to clear immigration and Customs in Indonesia, and the time to a Jakarta hotel from the airport, and you're looking at a day, hotel to hotel.

Strange as it may seem, carrying a keris into Indonesia can be difficult, occasionally disastrous. It is a weapon, all weapons must be declared on entry. Get an unsympathetic Customs officer, you can lose it, or at best be given the option of sending it back to where you come from.

Taking a keris out of Indonesia usually poses no problems, but sending one out by mail can become a nightmare. There are ways around the problems, and it helps if you can speak Indonesian and understand the societal mores.

Getting a new scabbard made to order, and having the blade stained may not be quite so simple as it might seem to be. Carefully refitting the blade to the existing scabbard and learning to do the restain yourself might be the wiser option.

The wood in this scabbard would be impossible to obtain at the present time, and even another type of wood that was equal in quality would also be somewhere between difficult and impossible to obtain. This is nice dress on this keris, and it should be retained.

[QuisUtDeus]

Wow! Thank you very much. I thought a quality scabbard would have hidden the jointing better. You can see the glue even in the seller's pictures. When my scabbard broke I didn't get at all angry or annoyed.

I thought it would be easy to get another scabbard. I've never had problem bringing blades into and out of the Philippines. I think my best option will be to bring it there and have a custom hilt and scabbard made. I like kamagong wood. I want a heavy single-piece scabbard without glue. I know a jeweler who can copy the mendak design and install worthy stones.

Everything is good news. My money wasn't ill spent. Thank you deeply for all your help. It seems that a point of origin isn't at all clear, and that is ok. The possibilities you've referenced will make good starting points for academic reading.

I realize everyone that's posted so far is of a very rational mind, but I do want to mention that this blade's aura is growing. I've been reading a lot of threads and the one entitled 'keris and spirit' has been very informative so far. A Swiss man mentions owning a plain keris that two sixth-sense people (like myself) would have nothing to do with. I showed this keris to a friend who also has sixth sense and he will not allow the blade in his house again.

The blade brings me nothing ill. I tingle when I touch it. Out of all the great looking and better quality kerises I chose this physically average piece. Out of the many hundreds of kerises I've looked at on the internet only two or three others appeal to me.

I hope a member with a metaphysical point of view finds this thread. There seem to be a lot of them here.

I'm sorry if my customizing offends anyone. I got this keris for metaphysical reasons and the accessories are all duds. I will repair and take care of them as a rational collector. No worries!

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I can see very little, if anything, of Bali in this blade. I do not see a current era blade, and I am inclined to the assumption that it is very probably of Lombok origin.

Thank you Alan and I agree with you.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I can see very little, if anything, of Bali in this blade. I do not see a current era blade, and I am inclined to the assumption that it is very probably of Lombok origin.

The wood in this scabbard would be impossible to obtain at the present time, and even another type of wood that was equal in quality would also be somewhere between difficult and impossible to obtain. This is nice dress on this keris, and it should be retained.

While i did at first suggest this keris might be "more" contemporary than not i did not intend to express that i thought it was new and i do agree with both Alan and Jean that it is not post WWII. I was think more early 20th century, but i am certainly willing to concede to more expert eyes that it may be older and yes, probably from Lombok.

As i mentioned before, this type of timoho pelet wood is considered very desirable. I would like to double down with Alan here and suggest that you not change out the dress on this keris. Despite the difficulties you would face trying to bring the keris both in and then out of Indonesia i definitely believe this dress is both appropriate for this blade as well as worth saving. You should not have too much difficulty adjusting the blade to fit better, especially if the stem is already disconnected from the top sheath. I also don't really see any indication in your photos that the uwer (again, it is not a mendak ) is hopelessly damaged. It should also clean up nicely with some scrubbing with a soft toothbrush.
I cannot emphasis more that as someone new to keri ownership it would be in your best interest to learn more about it before acting upon both cleaning and repair.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by QuisUtDeus

Sorry! I really messed up the measurement. I meant in inches about 13.5. Cm is about 34.5.

34.5 cm is a bit short for 20th century Bali/ Lombok blades but older blades used to be in this size range. It is unfortunate that the blade & scabbard are not matching well, but the blade is not that short as compared to the scabbard for a balinese kris.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

34.5 cm is a bit short for 20th century Bali/ Lombok blades but older blades used to be in this size range.

How old are you willing to consider this blade Jean? Most last 19th century Bali/Lombok blades tend to be 15 inches at least. There are, of course, exceptions. If you are not attaching greater age than that to this blade perhaps it is neither Bali nor Lombok.