Riau-Bugis Keris and Hilt?

A. G. Maisey · 11th October 2011, 01:41 PM

Yes, if that is your preference, it will give the result you want, however, ask yourself if you would use no more than a soft cloth on a fine piano, or a fine piece of antique furniture with a french polish.

You might find that rotten stone will be kinder to a Javanese finish than car polish; in Jawa the layers of polish are intentionally kept thin, in order to permit the grain to be seen better --- there is nothing like the traditional piano finish in Jawa. This means that unless one is extremely careful it is quite easy to cut through the usual Javanese polish. The rotten stone I mentioned is something that was used by traditional polishers in the past, I think that these days when a polisher wants a matt finish, he will usually opt for 0000 steel wool, very lightly brushed in one direction with the grain, and most often used damp with a little soap.

Furniture oils such as Sheraton, and furniture waxes such as Antiquax have been formulated to protect and preserve the finish on fine furniture. I personally feel that a finely polished warangka deserves at least the same consideration.

However, we all have our own preferences.

A quick , easy way to refinish an old warangka is to use Danish oil, or a gunstock finish like Birchwood Casey Trueoil. The use of these types of finish requires virtually no skill at all, and it is easy to produce any level of gloss that you wish.

ganjawulung · 11th October 2011, 04:32 PM

There is also, a 'traditional way' in Jawa, using "watu ijo" (green stone), crush the green stone, and use it to make nikel blade or alloy more shiny. I am used to use it to make my certain motor part more shiny... Is it useful too for maintaining certain keris part more shiny?

A. G. Maisey · 11th October 2011, 11:18 PM

I do not know the green stone, and have never seen it used.

I've been quite close to a couple of tukang wrongko, one in particular was a good friend for more than ten years before he went to Jakarta, changed the direction of his employment, and finally disappeared. This gentleman used to use a couple of different kinds of leaves to bring down gloss.

Another extremely talented maker I currently know uses whatever comes to hand to achieve whatever result he wants. This fellow is the current generation of a long line of m'ranggis, and he does incredibly good work when you can convince him to work instead of going fishing, but some of things I've seen him do, absolutely defy tradition.

My personal taste in a matt finish is to use burnishing, but of course, you can't use this with all materials.Ideal for ebony, less than good for timoho.

But maybe this green stone is only used for metal?

I much prefer to use the standard western approach for metal polishing.

11th October 2011, 01:41 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Yes, if that is your preference, it will give the result you want, however, ask yourself if you would use no more than a soft cloth on a fine piano, or a fine piece of antique furniture with a french polish. You might find that rotten stone will be kinder to a Javanese finish than car polish; in Jawa the layers of polish are intentionally kept thin, in order to permit the grain to be seen better --- there is nothing like the traditional piano finish in Jawa. This means that unless one is extremely careful it is quite easy to cut through the usual Javanese polish. The rotten stone I mentioned is something that was used by traditional polishers in the past, I think that these days when a polisher wants a matt finish, he will usually opt for 0000 steel wool, very lightly brushed in one direction with the grain, and most often used damp with a little soap. Furniture oils such as Sheraton, and furniture waxes such as Antiquax have been formulated to protect and preserve the finish on fine furniture. I personally feel that a finely polished warangka deserves at least the same consideration. However, we all have our own preferences. A quick , easy way to refinish an old warangka is to use Danish oil, or a gunstock finish like Birchwood Casey Trueoil. The use of these types of finish requires virtually no skill at all, and it is easy to produce any level of gloss that you wish.

11th October 2011, 04:32 PM	#2
ganjawulung Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: J a k a r t a Posts: 991	There is also, a 'traditional way' in Jawa, using "watu ijo" (green stone), crush the green stone, and use it to make nikel blade or alloy more shiny. I am used to use it to make my certain motor part more shiny... Is it useful too for maintaining certain keris part more shiny?

11th October 2011, 11:18 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	I do not know the green stone, and have never seen it used. I've been quite close to a couple of tukang wrongko, one in particular was a good friend for more than ten years before he went to Jakarta, changed the direction of his employment, and finally disappeared. This gentleman used to use a couple of different kinds of leaves to bring down gloss. Another extremely talented maker I currently know uses whatever comes to hand to achieve whatever result he wants. This fellow is the current generation of a long line of m'ranggis, and he does incredibly good work when you can convince him to work instead of going fishing, but some of things I've seen him do, absolutely defy tradition. My personal taste in a matt finish is to use burnishing, but of course, you can't use this with all materials.Ideal for ebony, less than good for timoho. But maybe this green stone is only used for metal? I much prefer to use the standard western approach for metal polishing.