Arsenic or realgar for Keris etching?

A. G. Maisey · 16th August 2009, 05:59 AM

Thanks David. It is one of the better things I've done.

I'm not so sure that this is off-topic, because what we're talking about is blade staining, and I believe that this encompasses more than just keris and arsenic. I've stained many different types of materials, and I've used many different substances to achieve the stains. The wider one's experience the more that experience can contribute towards the achievement of excellence in just one medium.

What I've tried to do with these pics is to show some of the variations that can occur.

Here is a side view of that damascus dagger.

kulbuntet · 16th August 2009, 09:51 AM

nice work Alan,

Like A+B, love G, Kenanga? Would love to get my hands on some sekar blades to.. difficult to find good ones. Iff do.. way to expencive for my little wallet :S

Pic of some chunks waragnan, and trioxid pot.

here some more (clearer) pics of the blade recently done. Notice the square peksi, as writen of in other thread. For the ones remembering, that i did promise to post pics... after long search (at my moms house). found it but did not want to show without good clean and wash. Beter late than never.

Marcokeris · 16th August 2009, 01:59 PM

.....here some more (clearer) pics of the blade recently done. Notice the square peksi, as writen of in other thread. For the ones remembering, that i did promise to post pics... after long search (at my moms house). found it but did not want to show without good clean and wash. Beter late than never.

Yes it's too dark!!. I 'ld try to wash it with a little lemon juice in the water... or a lot of cream soap over my fingers (...if the cream becames yellow...great day!!

)

kulbuntet · 16th August 2009, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcokeris

.....here some more (clearer) pics of the blade recently done. Notice the square peksi, as writen of in other thread. For the ones remembering, that i did promise to post pics... after long search (at my moms house). found it but did not want to show without good clean and wash. Beter late than never.

Yes it's too dark!!. I 'ld try to wash it with a little lemon juice in the water... or a lot of cream soap over my fingers (...if the cream becames yellow...great day!!

)

Opinion or fact? And can you underbuild you statment how it should look like... pics please.. from a equal blade with same pamor material! Not technique. Would like to see what you like/mean.

Marcokeris · 16th August 2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kulbuntet

Opinion or fact? And can you underbuild you statment how it should look like... pics please.. from a equal blade with same pamor material! Not technique. Would like to see what you like/mean.

I dont have an equal blade with same pamor material

kulbuntet · 16th August 2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcokeris

I dont have an equal blade with same pamor material

did you ever wash one like it?

Marcokeris · 16th August 2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kulbuntet

did you ever wash one like it?

like it never
...but i washed a lot (sometime a lot of time only for one blade

)

A. G. Maisey · 16th August 2009, 02:50 PM

Yes, in the photos this blade looks too dark.

But it may not be.

We do not know what the true colour of the material is:- we can all only work within the limits of the material.

It is not possible to make a Tuban blade look like a Surakarta blade.

Maybe what we see here is the correct colour for this blade.

Look at the examples I have posted:- there is a lot of variation in colour, and this is only a small sample, in reality, blade colours can vary a lot more than this.

Because of the limits of the material we need to be able to classify a blade according to tangguh so that we can recognise when the blade colour is correct.

kulbuntet · 16th August 2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Yes, in the photos this blade looks too dark.

But it may not be.

We do not know what the true colour of the material is:- we can all only work within the limits of the material.

It is not possible to make a Tuban blade look like a Surakarta blade.

Maybe what we see here is the correct colour for this blade.

Look at the examples I have posted:- there is a lot of variation in colour, and this is only a small sample, in reality, blade colours can vary a lot more than this.

Because of the limits of the material we need to be able to classify a blade according to tangguh so that we can recognise when the blade colour is correct.

Oke Alan, good comment.. cleary build..how can i be of asistence to give you more info to give you a clear impression of the blade (tanguh). Must i post dry pics?

addon,

this blade is when in oil (not like in pic) almost same colour.

Marcokeris · 16th August 2009, 04:28 PM

I always have used western (italian) lemon juice together warangan and i put the blade in the same way mr. Kulbuntet have showed in the nice pics.
If i have a blade with a little rust i'm not happy and "before or after" i finish to use warangan.
SOMETIMES i like my work (of course is my personal taste).....(sorry i dont have the pics before i used warangan)....

16th August 2009, 05:59 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Thanks David. It is one of the better things I've done. I'm not so sure that this is off-topic, because what we're talking about is blade staining, and I believe that this encompasses more than just keris and arsenic. I've stained many different types of materials, and I've used many different substances to achieve the stains. The wider one's experience the more that experience can contribute towards the achievement of excellence in just one medium. What I've tried to do with these pics is to show some of the variations that can occur. Here is a side view of that damascus dagger. Attached Images

16th August 2009, 09:51 AM	#2
kulbuntet Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands Posts: 159	nice work Alan, Like A+B, love G, Kenanga? Would love to get my hands on some sekar blades to.. difficult to find good ones. Iff do.. way to expencive for my little wallet :S Pic of some chunks waragnan, and trioxid pot. here some more (clearer) pics of the blade recently done. Notice the square peksi, as writen of in other thread. For the ones remembering, that i did promise to post pics... after long search (at my moms house). found it but did not want to show without good clean and wash. Beter late than never. Last edited by kulbuntet; 16th August 2009 at 11:14 AM.

16th August 2009, 04:28 PM	#10
Marcokeris Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 928	I always have used western (italian) lemon juice together warangan and i put the blade in the same way mr. Kulbuntet have showed in the nice pics. If i have a blade with a little rust i'm not happy and "before or after" i finish to use warangan. SOMETIMES i like my work (of course is my personal taste).....(sorry i dont have the pics before i used warangan).... Attached Images

16th August 2009, 01:59 PM	#3
Marcokeris Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 928	.....here some more (clearer) pics of the blade recently done. Notice the square peksi, as writen of in other thread. For the ones remembering, that i did promise to post pics... after long search (at my moms house). found it but did not want to show without good clean and wash. Beter late than never. Yes it's too dark!!. I 'ld try to wash it with a little lemon juice in the water... or a lot of cream soap over my fingers (...if the cream becames yellow...great day!! )

16th August 2009, 02:50 PM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Yes, in the photos this blade looks too dark. But it may not be. We do not know what the true colour of the material is:- we can all only work within the limits of the material. It is not possible to make a Tuban blade look like a Surakarta blade. Maybe what we see here is the correct colour for this blade. Look at the examples I have posted:- there is a lot of variation in colour, and this is only a small sample, in reality, blade colours can vary a lot more than this. Because of the limits of the material we need to be able to classify a blade according to tangguh so that we can recognise when the blade colour is correct.