Gentle way to improve Pamor (no chemicals)

[Roland_M]

During my experiments and etchperiments in finishing polished blades I randomly found out a way to improve the contrast of old Pamor-steel.
Simply by adding a plenty amount of oil and gently rubbing with white chalc. The stuff from old school.
This will not remove anything and also leave no scratches but it will significantly improve the Pamor after a while.
Picture 1 and 2 shows an old Keris, probably from Java. The blade was in awful condition, the pattern was neraly invisible. After two hours of polishing with Ballistol and white chalc, the pattern is clearly visible and totally unexpected, the black color came back a little bit.
The second blade is my personal Keris, so there is no location connected to this Keris, it is a Keris Roland or Keris Saxony, with a nice modern a bit mystical background (this Keris found me!). This blade had heavy corrosion in the highlighted areas, it is still far from being perfect but much better than before and the active rust is stopped, without touching the staining.
I only used the Ballistol in the last picture for that. This type of Ballistol got a strong smell, I cannot quantify the influence of this particular oil to my technique. Watch out, that the blade never becomes dry during the process!

The technique is easy enough for everybody and just a question of time and stamina, no chemicals are required.

Roland

[kronckew]

Ballistol is my go-to oil for blades, firearms, etc. 👍



I'm almost out & will need to buy some more soon. A 500ml. flask lasts quite a long time.

[A. G. Maisey]

Interesting.

What is "white chalc"?

[drdavid]

Possibly 'Chalk'

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you David.

Yes, I'm sure it is old fashioned blackboard chalk.

Chalk used to be made mostly of calcium carbonate held together with other ingredients.

The reason that even old Balinese blades have a smooth surface is that Balinese keris are routinely cleaned with powdered limestone, which is comprised mostly of calcium carbonate.

Calcium carbonate is a very mild abrasive and has a number of applications where it is used to polish away surface stains and dirt.

I do not know what modern chalk is made of but I suspect it might be something other than the old recipe.

Incidentally, Ballistol is a pretty effective polish for silver & brass.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

...
Incidentally, Ballistol is a pretty effective polish for silver & brass.

It's a 'universal' food grade 19c oil developed for the German military. It lubricates cleans, polishes, removes powder fouling, copper & lead bore fouling, prevents rust for ages, treats wounds & fungal infections, kills insects in wood, body lice, fleas, etc. & can be stored indefinitely without degrading. Not only that, but it's non-drying, never gets rancid or sticky, and it smells like anise, Is water-soluble looks & tastes like a non-alcoholic Greek Ouzo when it's mixed in water. (It's a great laxative )


And, unlike renaissance wax, it can easily be removed for etching steel.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Thank you David.

Yes, I'm sure it is old fashioned blackboard chalk.

Chalk used to be made mostly of calcium carbonate held together with other ingredients.

The reason that even old Balinese blades have a smooth surface is that Balinese keris are routinely cleaned with powdered limestone, which is comprised mostly of calcium carbonate.

Calcium carbonate is a very mild abrasive and has a number of applications where it is used to polish away surface stains and dirt.

I do not know what modern chalk is made of but I suspect it might be something other than the old recipe.

Incidentally, Ballistol is a pretty effective polish for silver & brass.

Apparently white chalk used for boards, etc is made from gypsum (calcium sulfate) and not calcium carbonate.
Regards