Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Mick · 12th September 2005, 01:44 AM

Gentlemen

I do not consider myself an expert in regard to the keris and I do not mean to start an argument amongst the members of the Forum, but we have had discussions in the past about the colorations of the keris after treatment with warangan. It was noted that a possible cause for different colors was impurities in the warangan. I suggest that the differences are possibly due to at least two reasons. One being the characteristics of the “iron” that the keris is made from and the other impurities in the warangan. Other factors are possibly the temperature of the warangan solution during the process and the length of time that the solution was left on the blade. (Leaving the blade in the solution too long will even turn the nickel bearing material black which is in itself a specific form of a Javanese finish.)

I have a dozen or so Balinese kerises. All of them except for the one shown in this thread were patinated in Bali while I was present on the island. The oldest of these (I make this assumption because the pamor is adeg which is laid out in luks and the piece has been washed and polished so many times that the luks themselves are practically nonexistent) shows the dark gray base that Battara mentions in his post. Others have colors that range from dark black through the almost gun blue finish that BluErf mentions. In fact some of them range from black, dark blue, brown and up to and including a golden color in the base material of the same piece. (That is the material other than the nickel bearing material.)

I cannot say that the patinating of this blade was done in Bali. I can only say what I requested that the individual to whom I sent the blade was to do with it. I do know that he passed the blade down to Bali in order to have the scabbard made and he even had a different grip and mendak made and installed before he sent the ensemble back to me.

Due to these variations in the final colors of Balinese kerises that I know of as facts, I am extremely reluctant to get into a contest regarding the judging of the proper color for the patination of a Balinese keris.

12th September 2005, 01:44 AM	#12
Mick Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Orlando Posts: 104	Gentlemen I do not consider myself an expert in regard to the keris and I do not mean to start an argument amongst the members of the Forum, but we have had discussions in the past about the colorations of the keris after treatment with warangan. It was noted that a possible cause for different colors was impurities in the warangan. I suggest that the differences are possibly due to at least two reasons. One being the characteristics of the “iron” that the keris is made from and the other impurities in the warangan. Other factors are possibly the temperature of the warangan solution during the process and the length of time that the solution was left on the blade. (Leaving the blade in the solution too long will even turn the nickel bearing material black which is in itself a specific form of a Javanese finish.) I have a dozen or so Balinese kerises. All of them except for the one shown in this thread were patinated in Bali while I was present on the island. The oldest of these (I make this assumption because the pamor is adeg which is laid out in luks and the piece has been washed and polished so many times that the luks themselves are practically nonexistent) shows the dark gray base that Battara mentions in his post. Others have colors that range from dark black through the almost gun blue finish that BluErf mentions. In fact some of them range from black, dark blue, brown and up to and including a golden color in the base material of the same piece. (That is the material other than the nickel bearing material.) I cannot say that the patinating of this blade was done in Bali. I can only say what I requested that the individual to whom I sent the blade was to do with it. I do know that he passed the blade down to Bali in order to have the scabbard made and he even had a different grip and mendak made and installed before he sent the ensemble back to me. Due to these variations in the final colors of Balinese kerises that I know of as facts, I am extremely reluctant to get into a contest regarding the judging of the proper color for the patination of a Balinese keris.