Duo earn a living by making traditional weapons

IPOH: A handicraft business that deals with making traditional Malay weapons is hardly heard of nowadays with the advancement in modern technology.

Yet, it is a business that continues to be the source of income for two best friends, Mohd Imran Hadiri, 35, and Ahmad Ridwan Jacob, 49, for the past few years.

Through this business, registered under the name “Pusaka Melayu” or “Aidil Craft”, the duo have been sharing their expertise in producing various kinds of traditional weapons as handicraft items such as kerambit, sundang, tombak (spear), keris and sword, which are made of steel and iron.

And they do not use sophisticated machines to produce the items.

“They are made manually, from burning the iron in a traditional charcoal oven at a temperature of 10,000°C, knocking the molten iron and grinding the blades.

“We maintain the traditional characteristics of the weapons as they symbolise our culture,” Mohd Imran said when met at the workshop in Jalan Simpang Pulai-Kampung Pengkalan Pegoh here.

Ahmad Ridwan, who studied mechanical engineering at Institut Kemahiran Mara Tan Sri Yahya, Pekan, in Pahang, and now the blacksmith at Pusaka Melayu, said their business had been thriving with orders, including from the state palace, and also overseas, such as Switzerland, France, Singapore and Indonesia.

“We received an order for 20 spear blades from Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar, last April,” he said.

Touching on the price, Mohd Imran said it would depend on the order by customers.

“We have produced a kerambit, which was sold for RM80 and a sundang berluk for RM1,000.

“Customers can request for custom-made items, as well as the type of metal they want for the product, the design, and if they want carvings on them,” he added. — Bernama