First Moro Kris (Straight Sulu piece)

kronckew · 28th August 2015, 06:08 PM

the green on the asang is verdigris, very poisonous. on a small area like that you could use an old toothbrush (throw away/destroy afterwards) and a paste of baking soda & water to scrub it off, then rinse with warm water, dry lubricate. wash your hands well before eating.

i use ballistol myself. be careful of course not to get any (water/paste/ballistol) on the grips. ballistol tends to darken brass, giving it a nice patina. ballistol is mostly mineral oil with a few additives. some people do not like the anise/licorice smell. it was developed as a general purpose weapons cleaning and preserving fluid in the late 19c by the germans. it's even used medicinally as an antiseptic wound treatment. good for steel, or wood, tho it may darken it. same for leather. not recommended for cloth. it's a food grade edible product that can be used on food preparation equipment. not sure how it would fare on a complex kris hilt.

the steel should have any active (reddish or crumbly) rust mechanically removed as mentioned above. inspection is best done in sunlight to see the differences in the types/colours of the rust, red rust can look black indoors. the black patination in some areas should be left alone (but oiled).

brass brushes or brass wool, dental picks, pointy screwdriver, etc to break up any of the crusty red rust. olive oil makes a dandy lube for that. when you have absolutely all that will come off mechanically, you can stop, clean with hot soapy water, rinse with hot water, dry & lube with ballistol or mineral oil.

rust can also be stabilised after removing the loose stuff with tannic acid solutions. it's a safe product that will however turn the red cancerous form of rust into a stable black form, much admired and used on gun barrels. after treatment, neutralizing, rinsing, drying, you lube generously with ballistol & you are good for a fairly long time. p.s. - tea doesn't have enough tannins, it is used in beer and wine making and is available from some pharmacys or online. it's a powder you can mix in water. wear rubber gloves or be careful, it not poisonous but may discolour YOU...

in everything, take your time, be careful, do not expect a 5 minute effort to cure the problems.

google 'sword conservation' for more info, some is contradictory.

as may be some info here.

David · 28th August 2015, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

the green on the asang is verdigris, very poisonous. on a small area like that you could use an old toothbrush (throw away/destroy afterwards) and a paste of baking soda & water to scrub it off, then rinse with warm water, dry lubricate. wash your hands well before eating.

If this is verdigris (i'm not sure how you determined that from these photos) it is indeed poisonous if ingested, but as long as you aren't licking your asang-asang regularly you are probably safe.

kronckew · 28th August 2015, 06:40 PM

yes, but it looks icky & better safe than sorry.

if it is verdigris, it can rub off on other stuff, eventually getting on something you do lick.

...and kissing your sword is an old traditional ritual during oath takings.

David · 28th August 2015, 07:40 PM

It's not that easy to ingest Wayne. Here is an interesting account of women working in the industry that produced the stuff back in the 19th century.
http://tinyurl.com/p4p3q3r
And remember that this Old Lady that sees countless tourists every year is virtually clothed in the stuff.

kronckew · 28th August 2015, 08:08 PM

it's not easy being green.... they've cleaned the insides a couple of times. it was painted the std. US green that all government facilities have been and are painted in since year dot. i climbed up into the head back in the late 60's, the torch was closed as it was unsafe when i was there.

she originally looked like this: but we digress, so we should now return you to the regularly scheduled program. p.s. the US Govt. denies that the triangular shaped UFO upper right is of extra terrestrial origin.

Sajen · 28th August 2015, 08:49 PM

I am still not confident that the front plates of the scabbard worked from tortoise shell, to my eyes it look like water buffalo horn. And the asang-asang could be from low grade silver with copper content, this stuff get also this verdrigis (oxidation). This can be polished away with every sort of metal polish. But like said, I could be wrong.

Robert · 28th August 2015, 09:35 PM

Joren, could the security setting on your computer be set too high and thus not allowing the attachments box to appear?

I agree with Detlef that the decorative covering is made from buffalo horn and mother of pearl and not from tortoiseshell. I would also clean off any of the green that is present just to be on the safe side.

Best,
Robert

28th August 2015, 06:08 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	the green on the asang is verdigris, very poisonous. on a small area like that you could use an old toothbrush (throw away/destroy afterwards) and a paste of baking soda & water to scrub it off, then rinse with warm water, dry lubricate. wash your hands well before eating. i use ballistol myself. be careful of course not to get any (water/paste/ballistol) on the grips. ballistol tends to darken brass, giving it a nice patina. ballistol is mostly mineral oil with a few additives. some people do not like the anise/licorice smell. it was developed as a general purpose weapons cleaning and preserving fluid in the late 19c by the germans. it's even used medicinally as an antiseptic wound treatment. good for steel, or wood, tho it may darken it. same for leather. not recommended for cloth. it's a food grade edible product that can be used on food preparation equipment. not sure how it would fare on a complex kris hilt. the steel should have any active (reddish or crumbly) rust mechanically removed as mentioned above. inspection is best done in sunlight to see the differences in the types/colours of the rust, red rust can look black indoors. the black patination in some areas should be left alone (but oiled). brass brushes or brass wool, dental picks, pointy screwdriver, etc to break up any of the crusty red rust. olive oil makes a dandy lube for that. when you have absolutely all that will come off mechanically, you can stop, clean with hot soapy water, rinse with hot water, dry & lube with ballistol or mineral oil. rust can also be stabilised after removing the loose stuff with tannic acid solutions. it's a safe product that will however turn the red cancerous form of rust into a stable black form, much admired and used on gun barrels. after treatment, neutralizing, rinsing, drying, you lube generously with ballistol & you are good for a fairly long time. p.s. - tea doesn't have enough tannins, it is used in beer and wine making and is available from some pharmacys or online. it's a powder you can mix in water. wear rubber gloves or be careful, it not poisonous but may discolour YOU... in everything, take your time, be careful, do not expect a 5 minute effort to cure the problems. google 'sword conservation' for more info, some is contradictory. as may be some info here. Last edited by kronckew; 28th August 2015 at 06:27 PM.

28th August 2015, 07:40 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	It's not that easy to ingest Wayne. Here is an interesting account of women working in the industry that produced the stuff back in the 19th century. http://tinyurl.com/p4p3q3r And remember that this Old Lady that sees countless tourists every year is virtually clothed in the stuff. Attached Images

28th August 2015, 08:08 PM	#5
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	it's not easy being green.... they've cleaned the insides a couple of times. it was painted the std. US green that all government facilities have been and are painted in since year dot. i climbed up into the head back in the late 60's, the torch was closed as it was unsafe when i was there. she originally looked like this: but we digress, so we should now return you to the regularly scheduled program. p.s. the US Govt. denies that the triangular shaped UFO upper right is of extra terrestrial origin. Attached Images

28th August 2015, 06:40 PM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	yes, but it looks icky & better safe than sorry. if it is verdigris, it can rub off on other stuff, eventually getting on something you do lick. ...and kissing your sword is an old traditional ritual during oath takings.

28th August 2015, 08:49 PM	#6
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,164	I am still not confident that the front plates of the scabbard worked from tortoise shell, to my eyes it look like water buffalo horn. And the asang-asang could be from low grade silver with copper content, this stuff get also this verdrigis (oxidation). This can be polished away with every sort of metal polish. But like said, I could be wrong.

28th August 2015, 09:35 PM	#7
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Joren, could the security setting on your computer be set too high and thus not allowing the attachments box to appear? I agree with Detlef that the decorative covering is made from buffalo horn and mother of pearl and not from tortoiseshell. I would also clean off any of the green that is present just to be on the safe side. Best, Robert