A welcome visit from a Forum member!
 

Had a wonderful visit from a Forumite this weekend and we spent a LOT of time talking kris. One of my favorite subjects.

Here we are discussing a SE Indian blade. Now I am 6'1" tall, so you can only guess how tall Kai must be! It was very exciting to finally meet a man who opinions I so much enjoy on this forum. His first trip to the USA!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...Marsh/11kw.jpg


Here we are studying another blade and about to be surprised by my pet (stuffed) Tsavo Lion!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b..._Marsh/3kw.jpg


Having escaped, we are looking through one of my storage places, old map/blueprint cabinets. I really like these cabinets. Very solid steel, and huge flat drawers for holding lots of sharp pointy objects!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b..._Marsh/2kw.jpg


Anne and Kai studying another blade. While really enjoying Kai's visit, I was continually impressed with his knowledge and so was my wife, Anne, who also has a deep interest in blades and the cultural aspects of these societies. I am truly a lucky man to have such a wife! And good friends such as Kai Witte.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b..._Marsh/4kw.jpg

Kai has convinced me to begin staining my Moro collection.

I have decided to seriously begin getting involved in staining, beginning with some of my lower end pieces, reserving the better quality pieces for "advanced work!"

I have chosen a few examples and am beginning the Clean, polish, degrease and stain process. Going to begin with vinegar to clean and stain. Kai suggested I get vinegar from a drugstore that may have the least impurities and therefore the most repeatable results.

Hey Bill, nice to see that you let others into the "museum". :D
I do notice that Kimba, the white lion is poised to pounce though. :eek: :D

David,

Kai is actually the second international Forum member to come by.

You are certainly welcome anytime. Just give me some advance notice and I will be sure that "Kimba" is contained. He shouldn't be hungry after eating 70 railroad workers!

But, seriously, I enjoy meeting Forum members. Just send me an email and come on down!

[QUOTE=. Kai suggested I get vinegar from a drugstore that may have the least impurities and therefore the most repeatable results.[/QUOTE]


Glacial Acetic Acid?? Be very careful with this stuff, it will burn your skin bad. I acquired a partial vial of it thru my work. Never got around to using it, l left it outside during winter time and it crystalized. Keep it outside, it's odor is strong.

Nice use of flat file cabinets for storage. I have a couple of them that I use as well. Got them after Ibeam told me that that what he was using.

Right about the glacial acetic acid. Household vinegar is about 4%. GAA is 100%. Kai said to dilute either to about 1% for soaking a blade.

Bill,
Nice home. Really like the arboretum, adds a nice touch, classy all around.

Bill, I'm only 5'7" ... :o








Do you accept visiting Midgets ? ;) :D

Nice to have a face with my friends collectors.

Maurice

for real.. glacial acetic acid is some strong stuff! the first time i worked with this, i decided not to put a mask on. needless to say i had a wasabi exploding in my brain effect after taking a whiff of this baby, lol...

Yeah, 100% acetic acid should be treated with care! I think it's about the first lesson in a chemistry class that you never ever sniff directly at the opening of any bottle but only use your hand to fan some odor towards your nose (after making sure it's not something poisonous to begin with).

AFAIK, you usually can buy 10% acetic acid at drugstores which is a much more convenient concentration to use as a stock. As Bill already mentioned, do dilute it further for actual use. I find about 1% pretty good for cleaning purposes (kitchen vinegar has about 4% - so 1% is very safe).

Regards,
Kai

Hello Bill,

Thanks for the nice pics and comments!

It just occurred to me that I wasn't able to post a reply on this thread while traveling for a few weeks and also failed to respond after returning home, sorry!

It really was an exiting weekend and again a huge thank you to Anne and Bill for their hospitality! From the pics you can estimate what an amazing collection this is... I especially appreciate their sharing nature - for example, Bill freely posting pics of pieces from the "Marsh Museum" here on the forum!

Regards,
Kai

Hi Guys,

Please pardon the question. Why not simply use kitchen vinegar full strength?

I have used ketchup placed for three to four hours to clean some stained blades. No great results.

Has anyone used kitchen vinegar, and how?

Best

Manuel Luis

Hello Manuel,

2 reasons:
- More expensive than technical grade.
- The organic residues in edible vinegar (made from wine, fruit juice, added herbs) may give yellowish/brownish hues when using vinegar as an etchant.

BTW, I bet that the main active ingredient when utilizing ketchup is vinegar. With some starch, you could easily cook a cheap acetic acid "pudding" for a less messy application on blades...

Regards,
Kai