Rusty Moro Kris

[mrwizard]

Recently i rescued this moro kris.
For my untrained eye it looks like Maguindanao and (because the ganja seem to be seperate) before 1900.
The hilt is not original to the blade as i can see traces of previously attached baca-baca in the black rust on the blade. The hilt is wrapped with cotton thread and covered with a kind of natural gum. Not pretty but very functional in my opinion. As the cotton is still white, i believe the blade has never been used after it got its latest outfit.
Compared to my WW2 kris the blade is very light and narrow and it seems to be far better balanced.

When i got it the blade was covered with a layer of active red rust. I carefully removed most the red rust and oiled the blade but as you can see on the photos there is still red rust left in some cavities.
For further cleaning i intend to take chemical measures (pineapple juice or diluted vinegar).
A problem is the hilt. The options as far as i can see is to either remove the hilt or to put the sword in an upstanding tube, so that the hilt is not covered by the solution.
What are your opinions on this matter?

Best Regards,
Thilo

[Sajen]

Hello Thilo,

you are also infected?

I use for cleaning a standing tube (a drain pipe from plastic, sheap to get in a do-it-youself-store, together with a fitting closing) and attach in up a wire. So you are able to hang the blade inside without the liquid have contact with the handle. As cleaning liquid I use lemon acid from the supermarket (it's here in Germany cheaper than pineapple juice and do the same job). When you control it good there is no risk for the blade and it works fast and good. Take it time by time out and pick away the rust with a hard needle. Like this I have cleaned a lot of blades with very good effort.

I agree with you that this isn't the original hilt and there have been two baca-baca. I can't say something to the origin but I am sure that Jose or Kai will be able to determine the derivation.

Regards,

Detlef

[tunggulametung]

Hello mrwizard, I guess different method suit different case but in my opinion you might want to consider "electrolysis rust removal" for this particular case. There are several threads on this forum mentioning this method, or google for it. I've tried this method with much success on keris blade as well as for other purposes (gas tank cleaning etc)

I'm lazy with setup so usually I just use whatever lying around, but a tube should be good idea for broader item like this particular.

When we mention the word rescue/preserve I guess we should avoid acid as much as possible. I consider myself as conservative but I really don't look into fruit acid anymore.

I'll post result on keris if needed.

Note: this method did not remove pitting, it will expose good metal/anything below the rust, and also keep in mind that you need to gently scrap/brush the left over carbon into beautiful shiny metal after the process.

Good luck if you consider this method

[tunggulametung]

On my second thought I really encourage any member who has not try to look into this method. I think I really should post before and after picture, and I'll do that tomorrow.

[Spunjer]

Yes, look into that process, the electrolysis method. Check out my post "winter project". It does wonder...

[mrwizard]

Thanks a lot for all the interesting input.

@Sajen
Yes, i fear i'm infected... and all because i was looking for a new pocket knife...
The advice of using citric acid instead of pineapple juice is very good. I'm always reluctant to waste the delicious juice.

@Tunggulametung & Spunjer
Electrolysis is of course a very gentle and elegant method of rust removal. On the other hand it is always a big mess and takes some extra effort.

The kris blade has a surface of roughly 400cm^2 if i assume a current density of at least 20mA/cm^2 this would require 8A and for ramp up and closure of the process i would need to be able regulate that current. My lab power supplies won't do, so i would have to build a custom one (not a big deal for me but still some effort).
What current density did you use for your winter project, Spunjer?

For now i still think fruit acid is the most appropriate way to go as the rust isn't as bad as on Spunjers kris. But i will look further into this topic. I have time the kris won't rust away within the next days...

...and if i'm really infected as Sajen said, building a custom power supply will quickly pay off

Best Regards,
Thilo

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by mrwizard

@Tunggulametung & Spunjer
Electrolysis is of course a very gentle and elegant method of rust removal. On the other hand it is always a big mess and takes some extra effort.

Well life is a lot more practical here in the East. I never read safety note when I read article on the internet
For my case, I don't know how many power I got, just the oldest small battery charger in the planet with no indicator, I don't even know which lead is positive and which is negative, just see how they react if the bubble is on the wrong side, switch it the worst case isn't electrical shock but merely sparks when the two lead short circuited

This is A LOT simpler then you thought. The internet guide might be looks complicated, but it is actually peanut. Just use whatever charger available (I read somebody do that with computer power supply he has lying around), use as little water as possible (covering all blade surface), as much as sacrificial iron as possible, add a dash of washing soda, you can leave it and do your activities, you'll likely going to clean it off in less than half day, with little or no effort. You can pause and repeat the other day if necessary. I read on the internet it looks like they took days, this is not true for may case. You need to check after several hours, clean off the carbon, if you find red rust under the carbon repeat after you clean the remaining carbon. No need to do it too often.

I swear result is better compared to acid. I believe once you try it, you'll never look back into acid.