Help with Identification please

imas560 · 25th August 2010, 07:07 AM

Hello all,
I bought a keris recently but am not sure of origin.
I've had a look in van Zonneveld and a search in the posts.
Any help in identifying would be greatly appreciated
thanks

Rick · 25th August 2010, 03:19 PM

Here's an interesting link :
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=soldier+keris

Henk · 25th August 2010, 09:43 PM

search for soldier keris and you find a lot to read about your keris here in the forum.

David · 25th August 2010, 11:15 PM

Rick and Henk have put you on the right path. These are commonly believed to be souvenir keris brought home by Dutch soldiers around the turn of the 19th-20th century from the island of Madura.

imas560 · 26th August 2010, 08:14 AM

Thanks everyone.

Rick · 26th August 2010, 06:03 PM

That looks like a pretty good, but degraded blade .

The pamor is interesting and bold .

I also have one exactly like your example .

imas560 · 26th August 2010, 10:41 PM

I might have a go at trying to clean the blade up following some of the posts here on Keris cleaning (but maybe without the arsenic). When I was in Malaysia I spoke with a Keris maker in Kuala Kangsar who mentioned using a tamarind solution.
So far I have managed to clean up slightly rust speckled blades and strip gun blueing (the gun blueing strip was not intentional, left it on too long).
When I get a free stretch of time I'll take some photos.
If the keris cleaning process by a novice is not advisable please let me know, all advice is appreciated.

Rick · 26th August 2010, 11:00 PM

Pineapple juice; but I'd think about it a bit before diving in .
The blade may be out of stain; but a real cleaning will remove much of the 'patina' .

A. G. Maisey · 27th August 2010, 12:04 AM

Yeah Rick, it might, but sometimes with these older blades you'll find that what happens is that most of the rust comes off and you reach a point where the blade is pretty clean, then it starts to colour up again and if you're not too much of a fanatic, you can get a reasonable stain job straight out of the pineapple juice without using arsenic. I suspect that what might happen is that the residual arsenic is activated by the juice.

Just remember to brush daily with a soft toothbrush under running water.

Rick · 27th August 2010, 03:02 AM

Would you try to degrease it before a pineapple juice soak, Alan ?

Or no ?

A. G. Maisey · 27th August 2010, 03:28 AM

Definitely yes, Rick.

This is a standard part of the process.

I usually do it in the kitchen sink with warm water, dishwash liquid and soft toothbrush, then I rinse off and dry thoroughly before putting into the juice.

Rick · 27th August 2010, 03:32 AM

No solvents ?
I have a Sumatran/Bugis blade that I cannot get free of oil; no matter what I do to it, including acetone .
I have used everything ; and still it smells of scented oil !!
If it still smells of oil; then it is not degreased; no ?

Sorry to digress ......

A. G. Maisey · 27th August 2010, 04:15 AM

No mate.

If the ferric material is porous the oil penetrates down into the body of the blade. You'll never get rid of the smell.

You could wash a blade off with turps, I suppose, acetone tends to dry a bit too quickly for my liking, but all I ever use is dishwash --- when I think its necessary

I've got blades that I've stripped and stained and oiled with kenongo/cendono, and then I come back 12 months later and they still smell of the oil that was on them before I cleaned them up.

I suggest you ignore the smell. Just give it a scrub with dishwash and go ahead with the job.

kulbuntet · 27th August 2010, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

No solvents ?
I have a Sumatran/Bugis blade that I cannot get free of oil; no matter what I do to it, including acetone .
I have used everything ; and still it smells of scented oil !!
If it still smells of oil; then it is not degreased; no ?

Iff you realy want to do the job as good as it can get, dont use acetone beter use apolar(non polar) solvents, like hexane, petrolether, toluene and so on. Also you can "cook"or boil the blade in water and let it cool down... afther that lot of dirt wil come out of the pores of the blade. But do reconsider about the state of the blade before you try to do this. Also NaOH (sodium hydroxide) can be used to degrease or break oil or fat like dirt on the blade.

regards Ab

A. G. Maisey · 27th August 2010, 08:28 AM

Highly technical Kulbuntet, and highly unnecessary.

I've been doing this now for a very long time, I have never had a failure --- I mean not ever, not even one time --- and all I've ever done is as I've just told it.

I do vary things a bit sometimes, depending on the blade. If its really heavily rusted I use vinegar first until the bulk of the rust is off. This saves money, because vinegar is much cheaper than pineapple juice.Vinegar is a bit quicker than pineapple juice too.

If a blade obviously doesn't have any oil on it, I don't wash it at all.

Cleaning and staining a blade is not rocket science, it takes just a little bit of knowledge and just a little bit of experience to produce a pretty decent job.You don't need to get all technical, things will work out anyway, if you just let them.

imas560 · 28th August 2010, 02:30 AM

Interesting posts.
I have at my disposal (listed in ease of obtainability in NZ):
pineapple syrup (canned pineapple slices in syrup)
malt and white vinegar
cooking tamarind solution
methylated spirits (denatured alcohol)
kerosene
isopropyl alcohol (70% solution)
I feel a potential project coming on. I'll have a look for posts on cleaning and depending on availability of time try and use from the above ingredients to clean up the blade.
Any pointers greatly appreciated.
thanks

Rick · 28th August 2010, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

No mate.

If the ferric material is porous the oil penetrates down into the body of the blade. You'll never get rid of the smell.

You could wash a blade off with turps, I suppose, acetone tends to dry a bit too quickly for my liking, but all I ever use is dishwash --- when I think its necessary

I've got blades that I've stripped and stained and oiled with kenongo/cendono, and then I come back 12 months later and they still smell of the oil that was on them before I cleaned them up.

I suggest you ignore the smell. Just give it a scrub with dishwash and go ahead with the job.

Yep, that is just what I did Alan; I was amazed at the persistence of the smell through all that preliminary stuff .

I think David had a go at that blade if I recall .

A. G. Maisey · 28th August 2010, 04:18 AM

My response is interpolated:-

Interesting posts.
I have at my disposal (listed in ease of obtainability in NZ):

pineapple syrup (canned pineapple slices in syrup)
YOU CAN FORGET THIS.
WHAT YOU NEED IS PINEAPPLE JUICE.I'M IN AUSTRALIA AND I USE GOLDEN CIRCLE, WHICH USED TO EXPORT TO NZ.GOLDEN CIRCLE IS NOW OWNED BY HIENZ FOODS A US COMPANY, YOU MIGHT LIKE TO RING THEM AND ASK IF PINEAPPLE JUICE IS AVAILABLE IN NZ

malt and white vinegar
CHEAPEST WHITE VINEGAR IS OK.
IF ITS A BIT TOO ACIDIC, WHICH YOU CAN GAUGE BY THE SPEED WITH WHICH IT REMOVES RUST, YOU CAN ADD A BIT OF WATER TO DILUTE IT

cooking tamarind solution
NEVER USED IT ON KERIS
BUT ITS ACIDIC AND WOULD WORK AS WOULD ANY OTHER MILDLY ACIDIC LIQUID
I HAVE USED PINEAPPLE JUICE FOR YEARS AND I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW LONG YOU LEAVE THE BLADE IN THE J8ICE YOU WILL NEVER DAMAGE IT.

methylated spirits (denatured alcohol)
METHO IS NOT A REAL GOOD DEGREASER
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO BUY MINERAL TURPENTINE (TURPS) ITS PRETTY HARD TO PAINT WITH ENAMELS IF DON'T HAVE TURPS.
BUT AS I'VE ALREADY SAID:- ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS DISHWASH, AND YOU CAN GET THAT ANYWHERE

kerosene
FORGET KERO

isopropyl alcohol (70% solution)
NEVER HEARD OF IT

I feel a potential project coming on. I'll have a look for posts on cleaning and depending on availability of time try and use from the above ingredients to clean up the blade.
Any pointers greatly appreciated.
THIS SUBJECT HAS BEEN ADDRESSED MANY TIMES IN THIS FORUM
ITS A DEAD SIMPLE JOB AND ONLY NEEDS DEAD SIMPLE MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES.

A. G. Maisey · 28th August 2010, 04:20 AM

It came up OK didn't it Rick?

A. G. Maisey · 28th August 2010, 06:10 AM

This is a pic of a Bali blade that has been in pineapple juice for about a week. It has been taken out most days and scrubbed with an old toothbrush, the hard bits of rust have been picked off with an old file ground to a point, it has been scrubbed with sink cleaner, steel wool, and a scotchbrite pad.

The pic was taken today after it had been removed from the pineapple juice and just rinsed off with water.

As you can see, the pamor has started to come up, and for some people this would be an adequate finish. I will give it a couple more days of soaking, then I'll hit with lime juice and arsenic, and the end result will be that the ferric material will be a lot darker, however, if you don't like handling arsenic, or cannot obtain it, this finish would be a whole lot better than the red-rust all-over finish it had before I started.

Ignore the blade shape, its distorted because I took it at an angle so the pamor could be seen.

Rick · 28th August 2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

It came up OK didn't it Rick?

Hi Alan,
There wasn't much contrast to begin with; but yes, it did come up a bit .

kai · 30th August 2010, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imas560

I have at my disposal (listed in ease of obtainability in NZ):

Look at the corner for exotic fruit juice in large supermarkets (most likely available in tetrapacks). However, make sure to get pure juice rather than diluted stuff with added sugar, etc. (100% juice from concentrate is ok IME.)

This juice still contains a lot of fruit particles but can be utilized as is for cleaning purposes. Filtering doesn't work - if you let a pack stand for a long time, you can decant maybe 2/3 of the volume as reasonably clear juice. I'm not convinced that this extra effort really helps the arsenic restaining though...

Regards,
Kai

imas560 · 30th August 2010, 01:14 AM

Out shopping today and found the following on special.

Rick · 30th August 2010, 01:35 AM

Looks good .
Got something the right size to soak the blade in ?

imas560 · 30th August 2010, 02:28 AM

A suspension immersion tube has been playing on my mind.
Was thinking of cutting the top straight off one of the packs and suspending the keris (with the handle wrapped in cling wrap/gladwrap, I've been poring over posts) but that might be a waste of pineapple juice. Am going to hunt around for a couple of clear plastic drink bottles that'll just take the blade. Maybe cut the bottom off one and the top off the other, sleeve them together, couple of clear plastic bags (one in the other), fill with juice and see what happens. Oh and sellotape coz it's always useful.
The handle is on very tight so am not wanting to separate at the moment.

Rick · 30th August 2010, 03:27 AM

I don't know where you live; but if you have a discount store that sells cheap art glass like our TJ Maxx, or Marshall's you can sometimes find inexpensive glass vases with a deep V shape that can be got cheaply .

There is also PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end .

A. G. Maisey · 30th August 2010, 10:34 AM

Yeah, that Golden Circle is what I use. For many years it was not possible to buy it without added sugar, and that's what I used for a very long time. Works just as well, but in hot weather the mold forms up on the surface quicker.

If you can find one, a wall paper trough is the best soak utensil I know of.

Rick's suggestion of pvc pipe with caps glued on works well too--- but once you glue the caps on you cut it in half lengthwise.4"X2" square section pipe is the best.

If all else fails all you need do is make a long narrow box out of corrugated cardboard and line it with plactic. That black garden plastic is good, but a couple plastic garbage bags will work OK too.

BigG · 30th August 2010, 11:10 AM

I am inclined to use a canned M'sian product of pure pineapple juice that is easily found here in S'pore. Cant remember the brand though, failing which theres always freshly squeezed lime juice, that would be good too.

When I am terribly short of time... as is often the case... I have tried using a dishwashing paste that contains lemon or lime extracts... dont know whether you have it where you are... brand name Axion... add in some water to soften the paste up and slather a layer of it on the blade... wait for for a while.. longer for a deeper cleansing action... anything from 1/2 hour to an hour or more... then a good scrub with a toothbrush under running water would clean away grease & much rust. But be aware that it would whiten the blade...

For a cheap container you may wish to consider slitting lengthwise one half of one of those huge coke, pet bottles. Then rest in on something stable..

imas560 · 30th August 2010, 11:05 PM

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll keep an eye out for the items when I'm next at the shops. I have the kit just about ready to start and will take photos to post.
I'll try and make from items readily available around the house.

A. G. Maisey · 31st August 2010, 01:34 PM

You cannot properly clean a blade unless you remove the hilt.

That is the first thing you must do.

Its a very easy thing to do, you just heat the sorsoran gently and let the heat build up while you work the hilt backwards and forth to free it. The technique has been mentioned in this Forum a number of times.A candle or small kerosene lamp is probably the best thing to use for this.

It is easy. It is essential.

If you do not want to do this, you had best forget about pineapple juice and soaking. You can do a partial clean by repeatedly brushing with lime juice or lemon juice. It does not do anything like a decent job, but at least it is better that the high probability of damage to hilt or mendak by trying to clean using the soak method, with the hilt attached.

25th August 2010, 07:07 AM	#1
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	Help with Identification please Hello all, I bought a keris recently but am not sure of origin. I've had a look in van Zonneveld and a search in the posts. Any help in identifying would be greatly appreciated thanks

28th August 2010, 06:10 AM	#20
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	This is a pic of a Bali blade that has been in pineapple juice for about a week. It has been taken out most days and scrubbed with an old toothbrush, the hard bits of rust have been picked off with an old file ground to a point, it has been scrubbed with sink cleaner, steel wool, and a scotchbrite pad. The pic was taken today after it had been removed from the pineapple juice and just rinsed off with water. As you can see, the pamor has started to come up, and for some people this would be an adequate finish. I will give it a couple more days of soaking, then I'll hit with lime juice and arsenic, and the end result will be that the ferric material will be a lot darker, however, if you don't like handling arsenic, or cannot obtain it, this finish would be a whole lot better than the red-rust all-over finish it had before I started. Ignore the blade shape, its distorted because I took it at an angle so the pamor could be seen. Attached Images

25th August 2010, 03:19 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Here's an interesting link : http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=soldier+keris

25th August 2010, 09:43 PM	#3
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	search for soldier keris and you find a lot to read about your keris here in the forum.

25th August 2010, 11:15 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,115	Rick and Henk have put you on the right path. These are commonly believed to be souvenir keris brought home by Dutch soldiers around the turn of the 19th-20th century from the island of Madura.

26th August 2010, 08:14 AM	#5
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	Thanks everyone.

26th August 2010, 06:03 PM	#6
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	That looks like a pretty good, but degraded blade . The pamor is interesting and bold . I also have one exactly like your example .

26th August 2010, 10:41 PM	#7
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	I might have a go at trying to clean the blade up following some of the posts here on Keris cleaning (but maybe without the arsenic). When I was in Malaysia I spoke with a Keris maker in Kuala Kangsar who mentioned using a tamarind solution. So far I have managed to clean up slightly rust speckled blades and strip gun blueing (the gun blueing strip was not intentional, left it on too long). When I get a free stretch of time I'll take some photos. If the keris cleaning process by a novice is not advisable please let me know, all advice is appreciated.

26th August 2010, 11:00 PM	#8
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Pineapple juice; but I'd think about it a bit before diving in . The blade may be out of stain; but a real cleaning will remove much of the 'patina' .

27th August 2010, 12:04 AM	#9
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Yeah Rick, it might, but sometimes with these older blades you'll find that what happens is that most of the rust comes off and you reach a point where the blade is pretty clean, then it starts to colour up again and if you're not too much of a fanatic, you can get a reasonable stain job straight out of the pineapple juice without using arsenic. I suspect that what might happen is that the residual arsenic is activated by the juice. Just remember to brush daily with a soft toothbrush under running water.

27th August 2010, 03:02 AM	#10
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Would you try to degrease it before a pineapple juice soak, Alan ? Or no ?

27th August 2010, 03:28 AM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Definitely yes, Rick. This is a standard part of the process. I usually do it in the kitchen sink with warm water, dishwash liquid and soft toothbrush, then I rinse off and dry thoroughly before putting into the juice.

27th August 2010, 03:32 AM	#12
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	No solvents ? I have a Sumatran/Bugis blade that I cannot get free of oil; no matter what I do to it, including acetone . I have used everything ; and still it smells of scented oil !! If it still smells of oil; then it is not degreased; no ? Sorry to digress ......

27th August 2010, 04:15 AM	#13
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	No mate. If the ferric material is porous the oil penetrates down into the body of the blade. You'll never get rid of the smell. You could wash a blade off with turps, I suppose, acetone tends to dry a bit too quickly for my liking, but all I ever use is dishwash --- when I think its necessary I've got blades that I've stripped and stained and oiled with kenongo/cendono, and then I come back 12 months later and they still smell of the oil that was on them before I cleaned them up. I suggest you ignore the smell. Just give it a scrub with dishwash and go ahead with the job.

27th August 2010, 08:28 AM	#15
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Highly technical Kulbuntet, and highly unnecessary. I've been doing this now for a very long time, I have never had a failure --- I mean not ever, not even one time --- and all I've ever done is as I've just told it. I do vary things a bit sometimes, depending on the blade. If its really heavily rusted I use vinegar first until the bulk of the rust is off. This saves money, because vinegar is much cheaper than pineapple juice.Vinegar is a bit quicker than pineapple juice too. If a blade obviously doesn't have any oil on it, I don't wash it at all. Cleaning and staining a blade is not rocket science, it takes just a little bit of knowledge and just a little bit of experience to produce a pretty decent job.You don't need to get all technical, things will work out anyway, if you just let them.

28th August 2010, 02:30 AM	#16
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	Interesting posts. I have at my disposal (listed in ease of obtainability in NZ): pineapple syrup (canned pineapple slices in syrup) malt and white vinegar cooking tamarind solution methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) kerosene isopropyl alcohol (70% solution) I feel a potential project coming on. I'll have a look for posts on cleaning and depending on availability of time try and use from the above ingredients to clean up the blade. Any pointers greatly appreciated. thanks

28th August 2010, 04:18 AM	#18
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	My response is interpolated:- Interesting posts. I have at my disposal (listed in ease of obtainability in NZ): pineapple syrup (canned pineapple slices in syrup) YOU CAN FORGET THIS. WHAT YOU NEED IS PINEAPPLE JUICE.I'M IN AUSTRALIA AND I USE GOLDEN CIRCLE, WHICH USED TO EXPORT TO NZ.GOLDEN CIRCLE IS NOW OWNED BY HIENZ FOODS A US COMPANY, YOU MIGHT LIKE TO RING THEM AND ASK IF PINEAPPLE JUICE IS AVAILABLE IN NZ malt and white vinegar CHEAPEST WHITE VINEGAR IS OK. IF ITS A BIT TOO ACIDIC, WHICH YOU CAN GAUGE BY THE SPEED WITH WHICH IT REMOVES RUST, YOU CAN ADD A BIT OF WATER TO DILUTE IT cooking tamarind solution NEVER USED IT ON KERIS BUT ITS ACIDIC AND WOULD WORK AS WOULD ANY OTHER MILDLY ACIDIC LIQUID I HAVE USED PINEAPPLE JUICE FOR YEARS AND I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW LONG YOU LEAVE THE BLADE IN THE J8ICE YOU WILL NEVER DAMAGE IT. methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) METHO IS NOT A REAL GOOD DEGREASER YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO BUY MINERAL TURPENTINE (TURPS) ITS PRETTY HARD TO PAINT WITH ENAMELS IF DON'T HAVE TURPS. BUT AS I'VE ALREADY SAID:- ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS DISHWASH, AND YOU CAN GET THAT ANYWHERE kerosene FORGET KERO isopropyl alcohol (70% solution) NEVER HEARD OF IT I feel a potential project coming on. I'll have a look for posts on cleaning and depending on availability of time try and use from the above ingredients to clean up the blade. Any pointers greatly appreciated. THIS SUBJECT HAS BEEN ADDRESSED MANY TIMES IN THIS FORUM ITS A DEAD SIMPLE JOB AND ONLY NEEDS DEAD SIMPLE MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES.

28th August 2010, 04:20 AM	#19
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	It came up OK didn't it Rick?

30th August 2010, 01:14 AM	#23
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	Out shopping today and found the following on special.

30th August 2010, 01:35 AM	#24
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Looks good . Got something the right size to soak the blade in ?

30th August 2010, 02:28 AM	#25
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	A suspension immersion tube has been playing on my mind. Was thinking of cutting the top straight off one of the packs and suspending the keris (with the handle wrapped in cling wrap/gladwrap, I've been poring over posts) but that might be a waste of pineapple juice. Am going to hunt around for a couple of clear plastic drink bottles that'll just take the blade. Maybe cut the bottom off one and the top off the other, sleeve them together, couple of clear plastic bags (one in the other), fill with juice and see what happens. Oh and sellotape coz it's always useful. The handle is on very tight so am not wanting to separate at the moment.

30th August 2010, 03:27 AM	#26
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	I don't know where you live; but if you have a discount store that sells cheap art glass like our TJ Maxx, or Marshall's you can sometimes find inexpensive glass vases with a deep V shape that can be got cheaply . There is also PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end .

30th August 2010, 10:34 AM	#27
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Yeah, that Golden Circle is what I use. For many years it was not possible to buy it without added sugar, and that's what I used for a very long time. Works just as well, but in hot weather the mold forms up on the surface quicker. If you can find one, a wall paper trough is the best soak utensil I know of. Rick's suggestion of pvc pipe with caps glued on works well too--- but once you glue the caps on you cut it in half lengthwise.4"X2" square section pipe is the best. If all else fails all you need do is make a long narrow box out of corrugated cardboard and line it with plactic. That black garden plastic is good, but a couple plastic garbage bags will work OK too.

30th August 2010, 11:10 AM	#28
BigG Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Singapore Posts: 75	I am inclined to use a canned M'sian product of pure pineapple juice that is easily found here in S'pore. Cant remember the brand though, failing which theres always freshly squeezed lime juice, that would be good too. When I am terribly short of time... as is often the case... I have tried using a dishwashing paste that contains lemon or lime extracts... dont know whether you have it where you are... brand name Axion... add in some water to soften the paste up and slather a layer of it on the blade... wait for for a while.. longer for a deeper cleansing action... anything from 1/2 hour to an hour or more... then a good scrub with a toothbrush under running water would clean away grease & much rust. But be aware that it would whiten the blade... For a cheap container you may wish to consider slitting lengthwise one half of one of those huge coke, pet bottles. Then rest in on something stable..

30th August 2010, 11:05 PM	#29
imas560 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 180	Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll keep an eye out for the items when I'm next at the shops. I have the kit just about ready to start and will take photos to post. I'll try and make from items readily available around the house.

31st August 2010, 01:34 PM	#30
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	You cannot properly clean a blade unless you remove the hilt. That is the first thing you must do. Its a very easy thing to do, you just heat the sorsoran gently and let the heat build up while you work the hilt backwards and forth to free it. The technique has been mentioned in this Forum a number of times.A candle or small kerosene lamp is probably the best thing to use for this. It is easy. It is essential. If you do not want to do this, you had best forget about pineapple juice and soaking. You can do a partial clean by repeatedly brushing with lime juice or lemon juice. It does not do anything like a decent job, but at least it is better that the high probability of damage to hilt or mendak by trying to clean using the soak method, with the hilt attached.