Two Magnificent Moro Kriss Blades

CharlesS · 19th January 2022, 05:11 PM

I was fortunate to recently acquire a couple of outstanding Moro krisses with especially unique, rare, and magnificently forged blades. The larger one here seems to have been forged in a pattern that reminds me of the Indian "chevron" tulwars blades...but not segments forged together like an Indian blade. Note the nickel lines and complex patterns that appear within the "chevrons".

At first glance, the smaller kriss looks to be the same, but though the patterns are similar, that one is missing the fine nickel lines. That kriss may very well be in its original polish; I doubt the larger one is.
These are both great examples of complex forging on lovely..and deadly...Moro blades. The forgers were quite skilled.

I am hoping one of our specialists in the art of blade forging can explain exactly how this pattern was created. It almost looks as if the entire blade is forged in a twistcore pattern.

Lee · 19th January 2022, 07:32 PM

Those are extraordinarily nice! I envy you.

I think that we may have had a double helix stage in developing the pattern, that is, a typical twisted stacked rod was then twisted together with an un-patterned rod and the two forged together. Two (or four if a different two are showing on the opposite face) of these double helix rods were then laid side by side for the body of the blade and un-patterned cutting edges were then added.

Something similar is likely going on with the larger example. Based upon the XRF survey on my patterned examples, the lighter areas reflect phosphorus and nickel effects and manganese and other elements may have contributed to the darker areas.

I suppose that it might also have been achieved with what was stacked into a single rod, but the plain areas do seen amazingly wide. Hopefully a bladesmith who does pattern-welding will stop by and tell you exactly how it was done.

kino · 20th January 2022, 12:43 PM

The title is befitting to the Kris’. The smaller ones pommels material? Blades length?
Thanks for sharing.

Sajen · 31st January 2022, 10:52 PM

Pommel from the smaller one looks like ivory!

The pattern is common by Javanese keris, ron gendhuru comes to my mind, see attachment from this thread post #27: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...t=mayang+mekar

And a keris from Jean for comparison.

19th January 2022, 05:11 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,843	Two Magnificent Moro Kriss Blades I was fortunate to recently acquire a couple of outstanding Moro krisses with especially unique, rare, and magnificently forged blades. The larger one here seems to have been forged in a pattern that reminds me of the Indian "chevron" tulwars blades...but not segments forged together like an Indian blade. Note the nickel lines and complex patterns that appear within the "chevrons". At first glance, the smaller kriss looks to be the same, but though the patterns are similar, that one is missing the fine nickel lines. That kriss may very well be in its original polish; I doubt the larger one is. These are both great examples of complex forging on lovely..and deadly...Moro blades. The forgers were quite skilled. I am hoping one of our specialists in the art of blade forging can explain exactly how this pattern was created. It almost looks as if the entire blade is forged in a twistcore pattern. Attached Images

20th January 2022, 12:43 PM	#3
kino Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 821	The title is befitting to the Kris’. The smaller ones pommels material? Blades length? Thanks for sharing. Last edited by kino; 20th January 2022 at 12:46 PM. Reason: ..

31st January 2022, 10:52 PM	#4
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 7,618	Pommel from the smaller one looks like ivory! The pattern is common by Javanese keris, ron gendhuru comes to my mind, see attachment from this thread post #27: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...t=mayang+mekar And a keris from Jean for comparison. Attached Images

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19th January 2022, 07:32 PM	#2
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 797	A double helix! Those are extraordinarily nice! I envy you. I think that we may have had a double helix stage in developing the pattern, that is, a typical twisted stacked rod was then twisted together with an un-patterned rod and the two forged together. Two (or four if a different two are showing on the opposite face) of these double helix rods were then laid side by side for the body of the blade and un-patterned cutting edges were then added. Something similar is likely going on with the larger example. Based upon the XRF survey on my patterned examples, the lighter areas reflect phosphorus and nickel effects and manganese and other elements may have contributed to the darker areas. I suppose that it might also have been achieved with what was stacked into a single rod, but the plain areas do seen amazingly wide. Hopefully a bladesmith who does pattern-welding will stop by and tell you exactly how it was done.