David, as you would understand , that is a very difficult question for me to answer.
I probably cannot answer that question.
I can tell you this:- in the mid 1980's a very well known Solo m'ranggi was flown to Pontianak and paid the equivalent of a year's salary for a middle manager, to clean and stain a very small collection of keris. His return flight was also paid and he was provided with accomodation whilst there.
I know of one case of a wealthy collector who was so pleased with a clean and stain job that he gifted a car to the man who did the job.
I also know of many instances where a stain job will be done for nothing.
The cost of sufficient warangan to do a single blade, once, by the pinch method is now roughly $US2.
Jeruk nipis (limes) are currently around $US0.60 per kilo in Solo.
A moderately skilled tradesman gets RP50.000 per day in Solo(RP.9000=$US1).
A m'ranggi is a skilled artisan, not a bricklayer.
It can take anywhere between ten minutes and ten days to produce a good stain on a blade. And you need the experience to know what each individual blade should look like, and the skill to make it look that way.
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