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Keris 21
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Overview of Keris 21
Bought in Malaysia.
Age of Keris : Between 9 – 19 yrs old
General Colour of complete Keris : Dark Brown
Make of the Keris Hilt and Sheath : Wood and Brass encasing
Length of complete Keris in sheath (Length of Hilt plus length of Sheath) : 39 cm
Length of Blade : 27.3 cm
Type of Keris / Blade : Curved Keris, Short Keris
Weight of complete keris : 300 gm
Rating : 3/5
Comment: This is a nice keris with beautifully, excellent, carved hilt and brass sheath. However, it requires some polishing of the wood and brass to glorify it. Once the polishing it done, I would rate it as 4/5, for now it is only 3/5. The hilt also needs tightening. The blade is of good, solid metal with a gap (hole) in the middle, and this is quite unique. The gold-plating at the top of the blade is also outstanding!
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The Hilt (Handle)
Made of : Wood
Shape of Hilt : Bird’s head with a crown with eyes and long beak. Truly outstanding!
Base of the hilt is brass, shaped like a ring with a nice design. This loose brass ring needs tightening.
Keris Hilt Condition : Average, requires wood polishing.
Design of Hilt : Excellent wood carvings. __________________________________________________________
The Sheath
Condition: Average and dull, requires polishing of both wood and brass encasing.
Design of Sheath : Beautiful floral design on brass encasing. __________________________________________________________
The Blade
This is the most important part of the keris. If you decide to buy a keris, please don’t just be impressed with the design of the hilt and sheath because some kerises may be very beautiful from the outside, but when you take the keris blade out of its sheath and have a look at the blade, you might find a blade which does not complement the outer beauty.
What to look for in the blade are the fine lines (the veins of the blade), the different types of metal contained in it (some blades can have up to 9 types of metal, and the more metal it has, the more superior the keris is) and the quality of the blade, whether thin or thick, and type of metal, where you look for metal that does not easily rust, and finally, the more curves (lok) a keris has, the more superior it is.
Therefore, if you have to buy a keris, please do look at the beauty of the blade as it is the more important part of the keris and makes the keris superior or otherwise. The blade is the soul and spirit of the keris and the beauty of the keris lies within the blade.
Blade Condition : Good.
Colour of Blade : Black with gold-plating at the top of the blade.
Blade is made of : Solid Metal with a gap (hole) in the middle.
Length of Blade : 46 cm
Design of Blade : Has beautiful Gold plating at the top of the blade and the blade has a good, solid metal with a gap (hole) in the middle and a “hook design at the top of the blade” (male keris).
Fitting of Blade into Sheath : Blade fits nicely into the sheath.
Shape of Blade : Very slightly curved, hardly noticeable.
No. of Lok (Curves) of Blade : 5 lok
Scent of Blade : Slight scent of perfumed oil. __________________________________________________________
How To Clean The Keris
Traditional Cleansing Ritual : May bath and scrub the keris blade with lime and its juice followed by incense (kemenyan) burning then blade to be lathered with unalcoholic perfumed oil (minyak attar).
Modern Cleansing : With any metal cleaning agent.
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Note :
The Keris is a traditional Malay weapon.
Today they are mainly used for ceremonies at palaces and as a dress code for the grooms at weddings.
There are also specially made handcrafted silver kerises which are mainly sold as corporate gifts or bought mainly by collectors.
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To place your order or if you have any questions:
Please email e_biz06@yahoo.com
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