keris and an old friend

Ivan Campos

Ivan Campos

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 4, 1999
Messages
2,508
Last night I called my old friend Alan Maisey, from Australia, to check how things were going over there. I have not received his catalogs in the past year and I was concerned that he could no longer be in business or even something worse, so I decided to call after that thread about keris a while ago here in the Foruns, but it took me a while to get his new phone number and figure out the damn Austarlian country code.
Good news: he is well and still in business and now also has an e-mail, what will allow much easier (and cheaper) comunication. he is just starting to use the Internet for this business purpose, he told me, and I should talk him into coming to the HI Forum soon.
For those who don't know him, Alan is a traditionally trained empu (keris maker) and a very knowledgeable expert in the region's weapons who offers a fantastic selection of kerises and similar pieces through his catalog, not to mention being a great guy.
I have been in touch with him since the early 90s and we exchanged a lot of mail in the pre-Internet days, but we kind of lost contact some two years ago.
And no wonder I have not got his latest catalogs: tehy wre being sent to my mother's store adress and should be stcuk somewhere over there. i am going to turn that place upside down to find them later today.
 
Ivan:

I'd be interested in your empu friend's contact info and/or catalogs.

I used to collect keris, and still have an interest in them. I haven't heard about any traditionally-trained empu for quite some time. There were a couple of guys in Indonesia, who got some press in the late '80's/early '90's. Both claimed to be the last traditionally-trained empu. (Both also accused the other of being a fraud.) But that's it, as far as I know. It's good to hear that the old skills haven't disappeared.

S.
 
Hello Mr. Campos

If you would be so kind, how would you start receiving Mr. Maisey's catalogs? Ive heard of Mr. Maisey's reputation as one of the foremost keris experts in the world, and it is indeed exciting to hear that he is coming into the world of the internet.
 
Hello

I e-mailed Alan and just got an answer to confirm I got his e-mail right, so here it is:

tosanaji@hotmail.com

Even though he can make them, I think he is more involved with restoring old ones.
His catalog goes out twice a year and sometimes there is even a khukuri there.

Alan is a rich source of information and you can discuss knives with him for hours.
He is a good source for books on the subject, wich are quite scarce.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top