Warangan

[Jean]

Dear friends,
Just to share with you the result of the cleaning and warangan performed by a friend from Solo, sorry for the pictures quality as some of them were taken on the spot. Impressive, isn't it?
Jean

[David]

Jean, what do you find particularly impressive about this work?

[Marcokeris]

Good work!
To use warangan is one of mine preferred summer domestic job (but my wife doesn't like this )....just about an otherworldly experience

[David]

Originally Posted by Marcokeris

Good work!
To use warangan is one of mine preferred summer domestic job (but my wife doesn't like this )....just about an otherworldly experience

Sorry, i'm going to push this a little bit. What do you think is particularly good about it?
I realize that this work might look better in person and Jean has stated he photographed quickly, but to my eyes much is left to be desired in some of these. In the first grouping it does not appear that the warangan took all that well in the 3 blades to the right. The first and third from the left seem to have the best effect.
In the next 2 examples the last one seems to be pretty good, though i can't tell if the color is fading a bit towards the end of the blade or if that is a trick of the lighting.
Frankly this looks much like the kind of results i get when i stain and i don't consider my skills at this work to be particular laudable. Much like this work it is a bit hit or miss.
I don't mean to be overly critical, but if we are going to present stuff like this for comment on the site i don't see what good it does anyone to just say "great work" if we think otherwise.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

Sorry, i'm going to push this a little bit. What do you think is particularly good about it?
I realize that this work might look better in person and Jean has stated he photographed quickly, but to my eyes much is left to be desired in some of these. In the first grouping it does not appear that the warangan took all that well in the 3 blades to the right. The first and third from the left seem to have the best effect.
In the next 2 examples the last one seems to be pretty good, though i can't tell if the color is fading a bit towards the end of the blade or if that is a trick of the lighting.
Frankly this looks much like the kind of results i get when i stain and i don't consider my skills at this work to be particular laudable. Much like this work it is a bit hit or miss.
I don't mean to be overly critical, but if we are going to present stuff like this for comment on the site i don't see what good it does anyone to just say "great work" if we think otherwise.

Hello David,
Thanks for your question and your appreciation which is shared by another senior member by the way. I agree that this is a question of personal taste and part of it is due to the blades themselves and the pictures, I will try to reply to it one by one:
Among the set of 6 blades, only the 3 on the left had relatively intact pamor but very indistinct, the one on the right is a Minang blade without pamor and was cleaned only, and the 2 others had very indistinct and worn-out pamor, the remnant of it being clearly visible after waragan even if the pattern does not look nice but there is nothing better which could be done! I am very satisfied with the results on the 3 blades on the left.
Regarding the 2 other blades (Bugis and Sumatra), they were a bit rusty and very dull, and the pamor was very indistinct (problably never cleaned since 100 years), and I was amazed to see the pamor contrast after cleaning and warangan. On the top one with pamor Lar Gangsir, there is no pamor on the ada-ada so this is why you see a black line in the middle (nothing to do with the warangan work). On the other one, the color is not fading towards the tip but it is an uneven lighting effect only (you can easily notice it on the bue background also)
Well, in my opinion the warangan work could not be better with these blades and I willl be open and curious to know what is wrong with it. If you can do as well or even better, congrats!
Best regards
Jean

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

Well, in my opinion the warangan work could not be better with these blades and I willl be open and curious to know what is wrong with it. If you can do as well or even better, congrats!

Oh Jean, i sincerely doubt i could do any better, but that's not my point. I am not a professional at such things and only aspire towards the practice because there's nobody living anywhere near me that i could bring my blades to for a professional job. I do the best i can and only hope that i get a little bit better at it each time.
You are, of course, absolutely correct that the success of staining will be, among many other variables, determined by the condition of the blade and ideal results are not always possible. A good strong color or blackening of the iron is not always obtainable. So you may be right, it is possible that the warangan could not be better with these particular blades. However, i have often done repeat washings on blades when i didn't like it the first time and found that it could indeed be better. So you never know until you try. It's not a matter of whether or not there is only a small amount of intact pamor.I guess for me, i am looking for a good even result with good "color". Different irons form different periods are going to yield different "colors", but the results should be even i think.

[Jean]

David,
Thanks you for your message and I fully understand what you say, especially about the different staining results depending on the blade itself.
One aspect which could be objectively criticized by some collectors about the blades which I showed after warangan is that the pamor contrast is too high and the iron color too dark, but I personally like it this way, and with time and repeated oilings the contrast is decreasing anyway.
About obtaining an even color result on the 3rd and 4th blades from the left which have little original pamor (one is from tangguh Pajajaran), I doubt that it could be achieved unless the staining is much milder and the iron would not be black in this case.
By the way this thread was not just for showing my blades but also to see and discuss staining results from others also.
Best regards
Jean