Enquiry about a Bali keris motif

A. G. Maisey · 22nd March 2023, 04:51 AM

Gustav, just a comment in respect of pamor.

It really does not matter what the source of the contrasting material is prior to it being used in a keris, it also does not matter how thick it is, nor its form.

Before the first weld is taken to fix it between iron, the contrasting material is forged very thin, about as thick as a piece of newspaper. When I have done this part of the forging, I would take the nickel to the point where it began to break up under the hammer & show holes in the material. This nickel usually started out as about 15-20mm thick.

The uniform thickness of the contrasting material in the finished blade is an indication that the entire forging & welding process was well controlled & consistent.

The idea of long sogokan following luk is new to me. In a keris with luk there will normally be a bend in the sogokan, but the proportional length should not vary. Some keris do have exceptionally long grooves in place of a sogokan, I've forgotten the usual name for these, but they are not sogokan.

In an old Balinese keris that follows tradition, the number of luk by conventional count, should not exceed 13. Yes, I am aware that we can find old keris with more luk than this, but the legitimacy within the socio-cultural tradition is open to question.

22nd March 2023, 04:51 AM	#18
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,736	Gustav, just a comment in respect of pamor. It really does not matter what the source of the contrasting material is prior to it being used in a keris, it also does not matter how thick it is, nor its form. Before the first weld is taken to fix it between iron, the contrasting material is forged very thin, about as thick as a piece of newspaper. When I have done this part of the forging, I would take the nickel to the point where it began to break up under the hammer & show holes in the material. This nickel usually started out as about 15-20mm thick. The uniform thickness of the contrasting material in the finished blade is an indication that the entire forging & welding process was well controlled & consistent. The idea of long sogokan following luk is new to me. In a keris with luk there will normally be a bend in the sogokan, but the proportional length should not vary. Some keris do have exceptionally long grooves in place of a sogokan, I've forgotten the usual name for these, but they are not sogokan. In an old Balinese keris that follows tradition, the number of luk by conventional count, should not exceed 13. Yes, I am aware that we can find old keris with more luk than this, but the legitimacy within the socio-cultural tradition is open to question.