By a collector, for collectors

A. G. Maisey · 11th April 2018, 01:48 PM

The forging that the keris is carved from is only approximate to the finished keris, so yes, if I say "carving" I'm talking about all the metal that needs to be removed to produce a finished keris. Modern makers use modern tools, various types of electric grinders and so on, but the traditional tools are files and scrapers.The electric tools speed up production, which means that keris can be produced at a price that people can afford to pay. These same modern makers could as easily use the old traditional tools, but the time used would rise a lot, which means the price would rise a lot, and buyers are generally not willing to pay for weeks of work as opposed to days of work.

11th April 2018, 01:48 PM	#22
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	The forging that the keris is carved from is only approximate to the finished keris, so yes, if I say "carving" I'm talking about all the metal that needs to be removed to produce a finished keris. Modern makers use modern tools, various types of electric grinders and so on, but the traditional tools are files and scrapers.The electric tools speed up production, which means that keris can be produced at a price that people can afford to pay. These same modern makers could as easily use the old traditional tools, but the time used would rise a lot, which means the price would rise a lot, and buyers are generally not willing to pay for weeks of work as opposed to days of work.