contrast in pamor

A. G. Maisey · 22nd July 2008, 05:34 AM

No, you cannot change the nature of the material by using a different clean/stain technique, nor can you undo erosion to the surface by using the Balinese clean technique.

In very simple terms, the Balinese cleaning process is to a large degree mechanical, in that the blade is polished before it is stained, it is not just soaked in acid a la Javanese blades.The polished surface allows a cleaner definition between dark and light colour areas, which creates the impression of high contrast.

If you took a Javanese blade that had its surface eroded, and repolished it to a Balinese type surface, you would see a similar effect to the finish on a Balinese blade---but you might lose the lighter coloured pamor material along the way.

However, I repeat:- you cannot change the nature of the material. If the material is grey on grey, it will still be grey on grey after it is repolished.

22nd July 2008, 05:34 AM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	No, you cannot change the nature of the material by using a different clean/stain technique, nor can you undo erosion to the surface by using the Balinese clean technique. In very simple terms, the Balinese cleaning process is to a large degree mechanical, in that the blade is polished before it is stained, it is not just soaked in acid a la Javanese blades.The polished surface allows a cleaner definition between dark and light colour areas, which creates the impression of high contrast. If you took a Javanese blade that had its surface eroded, and repolished it to a Balinese type surface, you would see a similar effect to the finish on a Balinese blade---but you might lose the lighter coloured pamor material along the way. However, I repeat:- you cannot change the nature of the material. If the material is grey on grey, it will still be grey on grey after it is repolished.