How many waves in a Keris?

Currently we are designing an aluminum training keris for Kali Gear. What we would like to produce is something that represents the very recognizable Indonesian keris shape and feel. The challenge is that there are in fact over 145 different distinct shapes of keris catalogued in central Java alone. The hard part is deciding which one to make first.

Although the keris comes in many shapes and sizes, whether straight or wavy, every keris has some standard attributes. Two of the main characteristics that describe the physical aspects of the keris are the dapur, (the blade shape) and the pamor, which is the surface patterning resulting from the damascening of iron, steel and often nickel or titanium. Since our keris will be made of aluminum as a training blade, we will focus primarily on the dapur.

A keris can be straight or it can have waves, known as luk. Typical keris luk (wavy keris) designs range from 3 – 13 waves, but keris can also have up to 29 luk. Keris always have an odd number of luk, and the number of luk can determine some of the mystical properties of the blade. Our keris will likely have 15 luk, which bears no specific mystical significance. See the sketch to get and idea of the coming prototype. The number of luk a keris has, can be counted from the base of the blade. Start at the bottom edge and count inside the depressions, while alternating sides, until reaching the top.
A real keris is made by an empu who in addition to physically making the blade, will chant mantra and prayers, meditate, fast from sleep, food and sex. This process is to enrich the blade with mystical powers and tailor it for the owner. I’m sorry, but if all goes well, we will not be skipping any meals or missing out on life to make this training keris for you. Nonetheless, we hope to capture as much as we can of the primary keris features while still making a simple training blade. Any ideas you have on this design or others are welcome.