Sword from Lombok -- comments please

capt.smash · 2nd April 2005, 06:51 PM

NO need for battery acid

remember i just used it because i had sanded and sealed the grain-[i can tell this is going to haunt me

]id personaly clean with fruit juice and make a mild staining solution like i did its very rewarding when the pattern gradualy emerges...its not like ull damage the blade u can always clean it again if your not happy

nechesh · 2nd April 2005, 07:42 PM

Oh Smashy, i'll bet you've got a few more pressing skeletons hanging around in your closet to haunt you than battery acid.

Sorry Mike, but i think i disagree with you here on many fronts. IMO this is not the same blade form at all to the example you posted. It does resemble other cundiks i have seen, but i don't know enough about this form to know if this is truly one. I don't think this was ever intended as a slashing weapon either. I think it's origin probably is Lombok or Bali as the blade work looks very much like other weapons from that area. I also don't think this is an executioners weapon. How long is it anyway. The bloodless means of execution you mention Mike requires a fairly long blade.
Rick, i see what you mean by suggesting it may be a reformed keris, especially having a pecetan and all, but my gut feeling is that this is the blade's original form, tip and all.

Rick · 2nd April 2005, 08:42 PM

Mike , I've gotta go with Nechesh on the origin of this blade , Bali or Lombok .

Naga Sasra · 2nd April 2005, 11:35 PM

Very nice piece of traditional Lombok design, it is called a Cundrik or Sundrik.
A nearly identical piece is pictured in Djelenga's "Keris Di Lombok" on page 101.

BluErf · 2nd April 2005, 11:53 PM

Could it be a keris pedang? It has a picetan at the base. Maybe it lost its ganja, and someone redressed it with modern-style fittings.

Conogre · 3rd April 2005, 04:46 AM

Hopefully I'm not clouding the issue here, but here's a keris I just got last week from Justin and I freely admit that keris are my weakest point in all of the PI/Indo/Malay weapons, likewise my least favorite.
This one, on the other hand, feels like a real weapon, with a blade that's decidedly non-pamor in relation to other kerises that I've had and seen, including some truly magnificent specimens of Mick's, and likewise has the deep grooving as in Ian's piece and many Philippine war kris.
Following the train of thought that seems to be developing, then this is likely a Lombok piece and the type that is being mentioned as possibly being what Ian's started as?

BluErf · 3rd April 2005, 04:25 PM

This is a keris panjang (literally "long keris"). It is not a weapon of war. Rather, it is a symbol of authority of Malay/Sumatran rulers. As you may have heard, keris panjang is sometimes used to execute people, by way of piecing the heart, top-down, through the shoulder clavicle.

The keris panjang I've seen are usually from the Malay or Sumatran areas. Yours is most likely sumatran, judging from the greneng. I have never seen a Javanese/Balinese/Lombok keris panjang yet.

nechesh · 3rd April 2005, 04:27 PM

Mike, that looks like a keris panjang, sometimes referred to as an executioners keris and my guess would be for a Sumatran origin. The pics are a bit dark on my screen, but this looks like it might be a 20thC example.

3rd April 2005, 04:46 AM	#6
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	Hopefully I'm not clouding the issue here, but here's a keris I just got last week from Justin and I freely admit that keris are my weakest point in all of the PI/Indo/Malay weapons, likewise my least favorite. This one, on the other hand, feels like a real weapon, with a blade that's decidedly non-pamor in relation to other kerises that I've had and seen, including some truly magnificent specimens of Mick's, and likewise has the deep grooving as in Ian's piece and many Philippine war kris. Following the train of thought that seems to be developing, then this is likely a Lombok piece and the type that is being mentioned as possibly being what Ian's started as? Attached Images

2nd April 2005, 06:51 PM	#1
capt.smash Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Devon ,England Posts: 80	NO need for battery acid remember i just used it because i had sanded and sealed the grain-[i can tell this is going to haunt me ]id personaly clean with fruit juice and make a mild staining solution like i did its very rewarding when the pattern gradualy emerges...its not like ull damage the blade u can always clean it again if your not happy

2nd April 2005, 07:42 PM	#2
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Oh Smashy, i'll bet you've got a few more pressing skeletons hanging around in your closet to haunt you than battery acid. Sorry Mike, but i think i disagree with you here on many fronts. IMO this is not the same blade form at all to the example you posted. It does resemble other cundiks i have seen, but i don't know enough about this form to know if this is truly one. I don't think this was ever intended as a slashing weapon either. I think it's origin probably is Lombok or Bali as the blade work looks very much like other weapons from that area. I also don't think this is an executioners weapon. How long is it anyway. The bloodless means of execution you mention Mike requires a fairly long blade. Rick, i see what you mean by suggesting it may be a reformed keris, especially having a pecetan and all, but my gut feeling is that this is the blade's original form, tip and all.

2nd April 2005, 08:42 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	Mike , I've gotta go with Nechesh on the origin of this blade , Bali or Lombok .

2nd April 2005, 11:35 PM	#4
Naga Sasra Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Boca Raton, Florida, USA Posts: 108	Very nice piece of traditional Lombok design, it is called a Cundrik or Sundrik. A nearly identical piece is pictured in Djelenga's "Keris Di Lombok" on page 101.

2nd April 2005, 11:53 PM	#5
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Could it be a keris pedang? It has a picetan at the base. Maybe it lost its ganja, and someone redressed it with modern-style fittings.

3rd April 2005, 04:25 PM	#7
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	This is a keris panjang (literally "long keris"). It is not a weapon of war. Rather, it is a symbol of authority of Malay/Sumatran rulers. As you may have heard, keris panjang is sometimes used to execute people, by way of piecing the heart, top-down, through the shoulder clavicle. The keris panjang I've seen are usually from the Malay or Sumatran areas. Yours is most likely sumatran, judging from the greneng. I have never seen a Javanese/Balinese/Lombok keris panjang yet.

3rd April 2005, 04:27 PM	#8
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Mike, that looks like a keris panjang, sometimes referred to as an executioners keris and my guess would be for a Sumatran origin. The pics are a bit dark on my screen, but this looks like it might be a 20thC example.