My Second Barong

Robert · 23rd November 2005, 04:55 PM

Just picked this up off of ebay. I'm not to fond of the screw but other than that it looks pretty good to me. It was described as "THE BLADE MEASURES 15 AND 1/2 INCHES LONG WITH THE HANDLE MEASURING ABOUT ANOTHER 5 AND 1/2 INCHES FOR AN OVERALL LENGTH OF 21 INCHES. THE WIDTH OF THE BLADE IS 2 AND 1/2 INCHES. THE TOP EDGE THICKNESS VARIES FROM THE THICKEST 1/4" AT TO 3/32" AT THE THINNEST NEAR THE POINT". All comments are very welcome.

Spunjer · 23rd November 2005, 08:01 PM

robert,
i believe zamboanga referred to this as pungkul barung, prolly of samal origin. looks like a no nonsense, in your face type carried by a commoner. is the toe on the scabbard broken, or is it rounded off like that? regardless, it's a beautiful piece; and congrats btw...

btw, if you can, etch the blade and see what awaits you

Robert · 23rd November 2005, 11:27 PM

Spunjer,
Thank you for your reply. The toe of the scabbard was described to me as being rounded with carving and unbroken. I will post a picture on it when the sword arrives. At the moment I am not able to etch the blade myself. Is there someone that you could recommend to do the job when it gets here? Thanks again.

Robert

Spunjer · 24th November 2005, 01:53 PM

hi robert,
here's a thread that might help you. i raised this question before, and once i started doing it, it wasn't too bad really, lol. hope this helps...

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11

Ferguson · 24th November 2005, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Coleman

Spunjer,
Thank you for your reply. The toe of the scabbard was described to me as being rounded with carving and unbroken. I will post a picture on it when the sword arrives. At the moment I am not able to etch the blade myself. Is there someone that you could recommend to do the job when it gets here? Thanks again.

Robert

Sure you can! This is how I do it. If anyone disagrees with my method, please post.
Steve

Etching Blades
Please understand that there are as many methods to etch blades as there are people that do it. Do a search on etching and read what others have to say.

1. Use acetone or denatured alcohol to degrease the blade. Both are flammable, so use good ventilation and follow the safety instructions on the can.
2. Cut a lemon, lime or other acidic fruit, and rub on the blade. Rub one side, then the other. Repeat until the pattern develops to your liking. You can also use warm vinegar.
3. Rinse the blade in cold water.
4. Neutralize the acid by rubbing the blade with a thick mixture of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and water, or with ammonia, or window cleaner containing ammonia.
5. Rinse the blade in cold water.
6. Dry the blade thoroughly, and oil it well with mineral oil, or whatever you currently use to prevent rust.

An alternative is to use ferric chloride. It works quicker and sometimes brings the pattern out better, but is potentially more dangerous to the blade.

1. Use acetone or denatured alcohol to degrease the blade. Both are flammable, so use good ventilation and follow the safety instructions on the can.
2. Mix one part Ferric Chloride, available in the US from Radio Shack as Printed circuit board etchant, with 3 or 4 parts distilled water.
3. Using rubber gloves saturate a rag or paper towel with the solution and rub it onto the blade. Put it on with a fully saturated rag, and wipe it on evenly. Do one side then the other, doing your best to cover the full side of the blade in one pass. Don’t let the solution run down into the grip. I use a plastic trough that is used to wet wallpaper that I bought at the local home improvements store to catch the drips.
4. When satisfied with the pattern, rinse with cold water.
5. Rub the blade with a rag or paper towel saturated with vinegar. I’ve read that this helps to stop the ferric chloride reaction.
6. Rinse with cold water.
7 Neutralize the acid by rubbing the blade with ammonia, or window cleaner containing ammonia.
8. Rinse with cold water.
9 Dry the blade thoroughly, and oil it well with mineral oil, or whatever you currently use to prevent rust.

Robert · 24th November 2005, 08:33 PM

Spunjer and Ferguson,
Thank you both for the information. I will clean and etch the blade when the sword arrives and then post the pictures. I'm hoping it has a nice pattern. I've a couple of other smaller pieces that I think I'll try this on first to make sure I've got the process right before I try it on this one. Thanks again for the great information!!

zamboanga · 26th November 2005, 05:33 AM

i use petroleum jelly

to keep the blade from rusting. the locals use pomade (the ones that come in small satchets) but i don't like my blade to smell like elvis' hair.

as to the way the locals do their etching, they use crushed kamias aka iba fruits - the long ones and not the rounded ones. these are packed inside a bamboo that has the same length and size of the blade. the blade then is left buried under the crushed kamias until the etched patterns shows up.

23rd November 2005, 04:55 PM	#1
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	My Second Barong Just picked this up off of ebay. I'm not to fond of the screw but other than that it looks pretty good to me. It was described as "THE BLADE MEASURES 15 AND 1/2 INCHES LONG WITH THE HANDLE MEASURING ABOUT ANOTHER 5 AND 1/2 INCHES FOR AN OVERALL LENGTH OF 21 INCHES. THE WIDTH OF THE BLADE IS 2 AND 1/2 INCHES. THE TOP EDGE THICKNESS VARIES FROM THE THICKEST 1/4" AT TO 3/32" AT THE THINNEST NEAR THE POINT". All comments are very welcome. Attached Images

23rd November 2005, 08:01 PM	#2
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	robert, i believe zamboanga referred to this as pungkul barung, prolly of samal origin. looks like a no nonsense, in your face type carried by a commoner. is the toe on the scabbard broken, or is it rounded off like that? regardless, it's a beautiful piece; and congrats btw... btw, if you can, etch the blade and see what awaits you

23rd November 2005, 11:27 PM	#3
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Spunjer, Thank you for your reply. The toe of the scabbard was described to me as being rounded with carving and unbroken. I will post a picture on it when the sword arrives. At the moment I am not able to etch the blade myself. Is there someone that you could recommend to do the job when it gets here? Thanks again. Robert

24th November 2005, 01:53 PM	#4
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	hi robert, here's a thread that might help you. i raised this question before, and once i started doing it, it wasn't too bad really, lol. hope this helps... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11

24th November 2005, 08:33 PM	#6
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Spunjer and Ferguson, Thank you both for the information. I will clean and etch the blade when the sword arrives and then post the pictures. I'm hoping it has a nice pattern. I've a couple of other smaller pieces that I think I'll try this on first to make sure I've got the process right before I try it on this one. Thanks again for the great information!!

26th November 2005, 05:33 AM	#7
zamboanga Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: zamboanga city, philippines Posts: 132	i use petroleum jelly to keep the blade from rusting. the locals use pomade (the ones that come in small satchets) but i don't like my blade to smell like elvis' hair. as to the way the locals do their etching, they use crushed kamias aka iba fruits - the long ones and not the rounded ones. these are packed inside a bamboo that has the same length and size of the blade. the blade then is left buried under the crushed kamias until the etched patterns shows up.