The "kriss" style blade doesn't really serve any function, does it?

Anyone who has used a wood stove for awhile knows you can handle hot coals without getting burnt. The same way you can touch hot metal and not get burnt, most of the metal contact is done with water (usually the tongue). The flash heating of water provides a thermal barrior, which is why you can set water hopping around on a very hot metal surface and not simply boiling off.

On an interesting note this was often used to test for guilt (like a hot poker). Someone who was innocent would believe they would fail the test and likely hesitate, which would cause them to get burnt. If you however to it quickly you can prevent getting burnt.

The nail thing is just due to the pressure being simply too low because of the large amount of nails used. There was a show on Discovery awhile back where they went through a bunch of these demonstrations and had them all duplicated by a regular guy with no mystical or martial arts training.

-Cliff
 
I remember when I was 17 yo in shop class at the Vo Tech9hard to believe I can remember those years), we used to dip our hand in a bucket of water than real quick jam it into a smelting pot full of molten lead, and when we pulled it out there were no burns, it was kinda like a stupid rite of passage for young boys in the class. I remember how my heart pounded in my chest when my turn came, no matter what they told me or showed me I knew it had to be a trick.:eek:
 
Kris is an old weapon popular in ancient times in the Malay Archipelago. Today, it is very much a collector's item. This means that if you like it, you buy it.

There are some very good kris makers in Malaysia and Indonesia. But I believe they are a dying breed. Good kris blades can be seen in the finished product. The blade has distinctive features which only the expert collector knows. The "waves" are symmetrical and accurate to the finger-tips.

An expert showed me once how the "waves" are measured with several turns of his fingers. The handles come in various shapes. Each made according to folk lores and myths.

The more prized pieces usually have "besi lama". Literally translated "old steel". Most of us would know it as damascus.

It is true kris blades are mainly used for thrusting. Some of these blades only need to scratch the victim and he would be in trouble. The reason being the blade is coated with arsenic. Thus, the handling of kris can sometimes be a delicate procedure.

If you are not sure about a well made kris, it is best to ask the owner. Some owners may forewarn you about testing the sharpness of the edge with your fingers.

Some of the better kris are coated with a special perfume. When the blade is unsheathed, it emits a fragrance, giving it a touch of tradition, culture and mystery.

The wood for the sheath and hilt are many and varied. Some kris have sheath covers made of gold and silver. These are usually made and owned by those who specialise in collecting kris.

I have seen a number of these kris. They are beautiful and are objects of admiration. Their handiwork is superb. The history behind the kris and the process of making them are rich in details and long in culture.

There are some stories surrounding certain kris that say some kris are only meant for their owners. Anybody who touches them without permission will get into all kinds of trouble. A powerful deterrent against thieves. Believe it or not, many local folks believe them.
 
One advantage of the kris for a collector is that even antiques are affordable to the average person. I was looking at Kris Cutlery's Sandata site ( http://www.kriscutlery.com/Sandata/Keris/ )and many of the swords there are less than some of the knives I've bought. An antique katana, on the other hand, is way beyone what most people can afford. I prefer the sundang style to the Indonesian though. I saw a really nice one in 1999 when I was in Zamboanga. It was about 3' long which is kind of large for a kris compared to others I've seen.

Some of the other kris superstitions is that they can fly out of their sheaths and fight by themselves and another is that the magick is in the tang so when some people sell them they keep part of the tang which of course makes the sword weaker.

One thing to watch for is whether it is a real kris or not. Cheap ones are straigt blades that have the waves ground into them. Another problem is that many of the wallhangers look old so just because a kris looks old does not mean that is is a real one.
 
I remember reading some things like that about the Kris also Benjamin. I read that if you hold the flat of the blade to your lips and whisper the person's name, the blade will fly from your hands and finish the job.
 
I don't care much for "firewalking" but I have seen in person as close as you can get without actually physically touching them, a man put a burning hot coal right from the BBQ on his tongue, hold it there still burning for a while, then put it out - all in real life, real time and no sleight of hand stuff.

Have seen more but this is bladeforums.com and not Ripley's Believe It Or Not.com :D

I am not a gullible person by nature not superstituous. I am a sceptic. Yet I have experience enough to recognize that there is much I've seen that cannot be explained as easily as parlour tricks such as the lying on pins trick and firewalking...

Just my .02 CAN cents :)
 
I don't believe that the even mystical krises were forged by hand. They were definitely forged by tools. But yes, there are a lot of superstitions, ceremonies, rites etc etc in the making of krises, especially the older, antique ones. One must understand that the kris is part of the ancient Hindu-Javanese culture (with a liberal sprinkling of animism) that pre-dates the coming of Islam to the Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. Therefore there's a lot of supernatural forces at work here. I think it's no different from European swords, Japanese Katanas and Chinese (don't know the name) swords/blades. Blades were not to be safe queens but to be used as a weapon in those feudal times. And I'm sure blood flowed more freely then.
 
Finger indentations were dicussed before by the keris nuts on the Ethnographic Edged Weapons forum. Here's one thread and here's another thread.

I've seen the thing where a guy dips his hand into molten lead and quickly removes it without suffering an injury. Touching a piece of hot metal briefly with wet hands (or any wet body part), without getting burned, is definitely possible. Actually pressing hard enough on hot steel to mold it would probably be a different story though.
 
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