Huge Moro kris

[Rick]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Flavio,

I'm speaking of the carvings at the asymmetrical base of the kris blade (I'm trying to avoid the word "greneng"): Usually, you see the same or very similar motifs along both "edges"...

Regards,
Kai

Agreed, a bit unusual that there is no reflection of the style carried over.

It's a shame there is no Moro term (that I know of) to substitute for the word greneng .

Flavio, will you etch this piece ?

[Bill]

Flavio, will you etch this piece ?[/QUOTE]
Have a feeling this blade won't etch. Have a couple of these large Mindanao fighting kriss; they most likely were re-cycled steel. It looks like a rough grit sandpaper was used to clean the blade. I'm also cautious about the hilt & fitting. While hilts from Mindanao often have "knob" hilts, all the big large ones I've seen had "horse's hoof". The fitting looks old but looks like it was cut to fit for the clamp. I'd just use some vineger on the blade to see if it will etch, if nothing else it will take some of the shine off.

[Flavio]

Hello Rick, I'm quite undecided to etch the blade. I can see some lamination in the sunlight, so the blade is not monosteel, but I really like also this shiny finish, so I don't know Bill I think that the handle is original to the blade: the ferrule is casting brass and at some point of its life was broken and not cut to re-fit, at least it's wat I can see. Also the dimension of the handle is good for the huge blade, thank you

[kai]

Hello Flavio,

I was also going to suggest etching.

Leaving the a Moro blade in high polish would be akin to treating a genuine nihonto with warangan...

Regards,
Kai

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Flavio

Hello Rick, I'm quite undecided to etch the blade. I can see some lamination in the sunlight, so the blade is not monosteel, but I really like also this shiny finish, so I don't know Bill I think that the handle is original to the blade: the ferrule is casting brass and at some point of its life was broken and not cut to re-fit, at least it's wat I can see. Also the dimension of the handle is good for the huge blade, thank you

Hi Flavio,

If you can see the lamination in the blade as it is and you like the polish I think you should go with your instincts; after all the sword is yours .

[Flavio]

Hello Rick and Kai, yes I will try an etching, since I have also another Moro kris that needs an etching and I will work on both.... I change idea easily

[Flavio]

Well, I have etched the blade and maybe Bill is right seems monosteel, with hardened edges, but also there is a thin line in the middle of the blade (that is not the central rib) that maybe is still a sign of a very simple lamination? Could you see this thin line in the middle of the blade? ah, another thing: seems that for the first third of the blade (from handle) is simple monosteel and than start the hardened edges (the "working" part of the blade) The pictures are very bad, sorry

[Flavio]

So what do you thik? is it monosteel? Thank you

[kai]

Hello Flavio,

hardened edges, but also there is a thin line in the middle of the blade (that is not the central rib) that maybe is still a sign of a very simple lamination?

Well, the blade is pretty young (1900-1930) so there is a real chance that this was crafted from "modern" steel - nothing wrong with that if done with skill as the hardened edges suggest...

That central line does seem to be a forging line which may be worth following up upon: This may be case of overenthusiastic polishing (which tends to obscur lamination patterns) and several rounds of polishing by hand followed by etching may be able to tell more details about the bladesmith's approach. Since the blade has enough substance, I'd give it a try.

BTW, how did the staining worked with that other blade, Flavio?

Regards,
Kai