Archaic kris for comment
 

I got this from a Cebu-based (in Visayas area, Philippines) family with Moro lineage. 20.3in blade length, hilt pommel didn't seem broken (seemed like it was made that way, no junggayan crest). Rectangular tang tapering to a sharp point was just short (2.7in). The blade is on the medium side (not as light as other archaics I've held), it's rigid and non-flexible. There's a curious part to the blade where the damascus pattern starts way above the base of the blade, after a line (I've polished and etched the whole blade at least 3x, the 'blank' part really yields no pattern).

I haven't touched up the scabbard, it's as-found.

Comments on age estimate and ID are welcome. TIA!

Interesting find. The line looks like a "weld line", forming a carbide line. Really interesting construction. As much as the pommel.
As for age, i would guess it's archaic, it possess all the features.
Congrats !

Thanks very much for the kind words and assessment!

I LOVE that double twist core! :D

Yes I agree about being an archaic blade. The hilt appears later. As a whole it seems Sulu region in origin.

If it is lightweight, most likely is old, maybe 19th century? As new blade usually are heavier than the old.

Thanks for the appreciation and assessment sir :)

It's the most hefty among my probably-archaic pieces, but still lighter compared to late 19th century ones. I believe the reason for the heft is it has a beefier blade (thicker) compared to others of its era.

xasterix,
could it be possible to get a close up picture of the "line", on both side ?
Thanks !

Sure, here you go :)

XasteriX,
Actually, that line is quite a mystery to me. You can see the pattern going through the line.

So, if the keris was broken, then welded back together, it would be almost impossible to have the pattern exactly corresponding.
==> So, it's not a weld line...

Other possibility... It's the quench line.... But i doubt it is.
I honestly grind my mind

Agreed a forge weld of a broken blade would show a scarp joint. Here are two random theories: 1. Stress fracture that opened and was welded (closed) during the forging process? 2. Silver solder of a break?

Bonus idea could the billet have been saw cut and had a sheet of the lighter metal inserted then forge welded together? Either partially cut and then heated or fully cut and upset?

The line is quite subtle is some area, i don't think there would be an inserted sheet of nickel or something.

The stress fracture could be possible but you can see the line cross the entire section of the blade. So i doubt it.

I also don't imagine a silver soldering, the result would not be like this.

If you check on the side of the twist, you can also see a line, resulting from a forge welding. Color and consistency are the same. That why i was thinking about a weld.

I will try to think about it tomorrow, with fresh idea

I appreciate the brainstorming guys! This is the only blade I have with such a mysterious line.

Thanks for the additional pics, Xas!

I'd bet on it being a quenching line: It's (unusually) sharp towards the thinner edges while it get's a bit blurry in the thicker middle section. This behaviour would be expected due to different cooling rates. With a high polish and an etchant allowing fine resolution, the crystal structures forming this line might become visible.

BTW, the steel of the pattern welding seems to behave very close to the steel utilized for the edges (central layer). Possibly a steel that responds very well to quenching. (Or the bladesmith perfectly hit the sweet spot for quenching this blade!)

Regards,
Kai

While I agree with Julien and other contributors that this blade certainly ticks at least some boxes regarding assignment as an archaic blade, I believe this might be a really well-crafted example from the revival period, possibly originating from the 19th century. Just a feeling that I'd currently have a tough time to support!

I'd posit that we need to research these blades in much more detail before we can establish defendable stylistic and technological trends (and/or possibly cultural differences), deduce key features to allow constructing a reliable evolutionary tree/network, and possibly identify individual pieces & even assign age estimates. Given the dearth of documented early pieces which could be used for dating, age estimates are likely to stay relative (younger/older) rather than real periods.

Regards,
Kai

Kai- thanks very much for your thorough metallurgical assessment and your gut-feel on age estimate!

Interestingly, you're the second person to posit that it may be a "revival" blade; a good friend of mine who's a museum curator had the same view. Compared to other archaic krises I've encountered- this kris has a pretty solid and non-flexible blade. It also has heft, unlike archaic krises which are usually light (sometimes ridiculously so).

I agree with your quench-line theory- that would explain why a bit of pattern in one of the sides still managed to spill over the line.

The best way to know would be to have it polished and etched. The difference of color would be blatant. I supposed earlier that it could be quench but, more test would be necessary to be perfectly sure.

Still, keeping it in his current state is also a good thing. Especially for datation. It's all a balance and up to you asterix.

My knowledge in Kriss isnt deep enough to assess a revival style. So i entirely relay on Kai for his datation

An impressive sword in any case

I forgot that it was you that originally posited the quench-line theory- thanks for that again, and also for your kind words!

I'll be doing an FeCl etch in the near future- I'll update this thread by then with clear and close-up pics :)

No need to clair i'm first or not ;) . Just couldnt be sure with the current state.
If you plan to etch, a good préparation would probably be requiered as the bottom of the blade looks quite pitted.

Kai, do you have encountered any exemple with a quench line like this ?

Hello Julien,

Not that I can remember, not that crisp and all over the blade, i believe.

And regarding the dating: As said, it's more of a hunch and needs serious research.

Regards,
Kai

Hello Xas,

I'm not a big fan of ferric chloride - etching with it tends to be quite brutal to the surface and it's acting so fast that fine structures tend to be missed.

If you intend to polish the blade anyway, a quick & dirty exploratory etch with FeCL3 could help to show some details before you start the actual polishing.

You need a good polish to reveal finer structures. And a gentle/slow metallurgical etch to bring out the details without dulling the surface. Arsenic trioxide used in a traditional rub-on fashion works as do a number of more available modern etchants. I'd probably lean towards warm sodium persulfate; I can't claim to have tested most etchants though - doing this side by side on a representative test piece is still on my ever-growing to do list.

Regards,
Kai

Correct me if i am wrong here, but from my understanding arsenic trioxide isn't an etchant at all. It's function when used in the warangan mixture to stain a keris is that it turns iron and steel black while not effecting nickelous material in the pamor. That is how it raises the pamor pattern. It is the acid in the lime juice part of the mixture that acts as a gentle etchant.
I don't really know what causes the lines to appear in a twist core Moro kris, but if it is not the inclusion of nickel in the mix i don't think arsenic would be an effective way to raise the appearance of the lines in the twist.

But an etchant would bring out the quench. And you would see a difference between the quenched zone and the "unquenched" one

An xray might be interesting to see. Know anyone who works in a hospital or Dentist's office?

Hello Rick,

From the pamor extending across the line, it seems safe to assume that we don't see any differences on a macroscopical level here. Thus, I don't think x-ray will be of any help here.

Regards,
Kai

Hello Julien,

Yes, any difference in final composition (steel alloy, heat treatments, etc.) will show up by etching/staining.

Regards,
Kai

Hello David,

Yes, I was referring to the traditional mixture of arsenic with lime juice. And, for brevity, I wasn't differentiating between etching and staining.

Any etching/staining result will not only be affected by the steel alloys (possibly containing different amounts of nickel, phosphorous, etc.) but as well from differences in heat treatment, especially quenching.


In most cases, Moro "twistcore" blades will have been crafted from layering mild steel and another steel with noticeable nickel content (probably from Luwu?), indeed.

Regards,
Kai

Well Kai, i think you really have to differentiate between etching and staining because they are not the same thing at all. Actually i don't think all that much etching takes place during the staining process with warangan anyway. Most of the etching with keris takes place during the pre-staining "cleaning" processes when either fruit acids or coconut water are used to remove rust and bring the blade to "whitened" condition.
I was not arguing that there is not nickel in the steel of this archaic Moro blade. But by my understanding the patterns created here are not done by the same process that is used to create keris with pamor. There is not pamor used in this archaic blade as far as i know. There may very well be some nickel content in some of the iron used though. But frankly i don't know. I am curious to know how you know this though. Can you cite a source for this information?

Hello Xasterix, I was wondering wether you ever followed up with a FeCl treatment.

I am thinking of asking a blacksmith to do this with my Moro Maguindanao Kris and wanted to see what the effects are. I don't have the facilities to do this myself. How, if you did, did you you go about protecting the hilt from the FeCl?


I look forward to see your answer hoping that you get an alert from the forum after my quoting your post from last year

Hello Milandro,

As mentioned above (post #21), I'm not favouring etching with ferric chloride. The stain will often exhibit pretty warm colors (i.e. rusty), sometimes after some time only.

Even if one has experience in its use on modern pattern-welded blades, there is a chance that leftover chloride ions will keep nagging on a blade, especially with antique blades that are more likely to have crevices from cold shuts, eroded surfaces, etc.

Pretty much all Moro aficionados are nowadays utilizing warm diluted acetic acid. While the resulting pattern will be more subdued, it certainly seems close enough to what real user blades probably looked like.

Regards,
Kai
(BTW, I see that I failed to answer David's post - will do ASAP)

Cheers Kai:),

I realise that the topic of staining is controversial ;).

Since I have never seen a Kris blade (Moro or otherwise) which has been stained with FeCl, I took the chance offered in this thread to see how one would have looked like.

Since Xasterix announced the staining (staining which was " to come" at that time) of this blade in FeCl and the intention to post pictures as a follow up : ".... I'll be doing an FeCl etch in the near future- I'll update this thread by then with clear and close-up pics ..."

I was wondering if this had happened and if we could partake of the results.

I have seen several pictures of blades stained in vinegar and, for comparison, would be very educative and informative for all to see the difference between the two (of course , Ideally one would have to see it on the same blade but also two similar one would be the next best thing)

Yes, I may be the culprit in dissuading Ray to move forward... ;) :o

We had some Moro blades treated with ferric chloride here in the forum (if not findable with a search, possibly in the defunct UBB forum). I'm going to PM you examples that I can't post here, Milandro.

Regards,
Kai

Hello David,

Apologies for not responding earlier!

In most cases of intentionally treating pattern-welded pieces, both is happening during a single process like two sides of the same coin.

Pretty much all stains contain an acid which etches the surface and some resulting oxidation products result in discoloration of the bare metal.


Yes, the whitening step is responsible for most of the erosion, especially with the rub-in method. (The soaking method tends to remove more metal.)

However, the lime juice in the warangan mix provides organic acids resulting in an oxidation process while the arsenic reacts resulting in the dark color. Thus, we still have both processes working hand in hand (since the lime juice is necessary to get a correct stain).


Pamor can result from any kind of laminations, even if the contrast happens to be low. Also in Indonesian keris, the use of metal from different ores/treatments results in obvious (if often more subdued) laminations, especially with many old pieces. If the ores don't have increased nickel content, it may just as well be a higher phosphorus content or other trace element(s) in the alloy affecting their specific reaction characteristics.


This example clearly exhibits typical pamor (easily comparable due to the smooth surface) of the same twisted type as seen on keris Jawa (or Lombok/Bali). Based on the thin pamor layers with very light color, I'm pretty confident that a XRF analysis will show an elevated percentage of nickel in this blade, indeed.


If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

At this stage, I don't have really started obtaining detailed measurements yet (quite tricky due to the small exposed surfaces, especially with more complex pattern-welded blades).

Aside from originating from the same roots, also all observed features resulting from blade forging and quenching as well as the very comparable reaction of pamor layers to etchant/stains, supports the hypothesis that at least the basic keris/kris smithing methods seem to be very similar all across the archipelago.

Regards,
Kai

Here's one Kai.

Hullo Milandro! Sorry it took me a while to get back. I didn't FeCl the kris anymore. As chance would have it, I was able to contact a descendant-relative of the original Maguindanaon owner, and upon realizing the value of that pusaka, they expressed that they would like to acquire it in memory of their ancestral lineage. As much as I want to keep it (who won't want to keep a twistcore, right), out of goodwill I let them acquire it from me. That's one less twistcore for me, but at least a family reclaimed its pusaka.

Anyhow- I've been experimenting a bit, and my current preference is a mix-
1. Mirror polish then FeCL, stabilize
2. I immerse a white vinegar-filled tube with old brass for around 2 hours
3. I dip the blade for around 30 mins (as a second etch), stabilize

So far I'm pleased with the results. It doesn't show up that clearly in my pics, but there's a golden tone to the etch in certain places (due to the brass residue). Here's some pieces I did that progression with.

Hello Xasterix,

thank you very much for getting back to this thread with such relevant information and very well done for returning the acquired kris to the family of the original owner. You are a gentleman.

Anyway.

Thanks for sharing your experience and your personal recipe.

I am considering all options for my one Moro blade (which I did publish elsewhere in another thread but I can add a picture here for completeness of the discussion).

I don't think it has a twist core or any other major feature , yet, I think that giving it the chance to show the hidden secrets (so to speak) may be a nice touch.

I am going to consult a local master bladesmith , hoping that he can provide some insights from a " de visu" exam of the blade.

Thanks for the kind words Milandro! I'm betting that your kris is laminated, and that the hardening at the edges will be marked neatly once it's etched (as to how dark, light, or contrasted, that'll depend on your etch media and strength). Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Hello Xas,

Be careful with your blades, I see brown corrosion by your kris, this is what Kai mentioned before about etching with FeCl.

Regards,
Detlef

It’s honorable of you to have the Maguindanaon family have their Pusaka back.

What’s the purpose of adding the brass to the vinegar?

Hullo Detlef! Thanks for the heads-up- but that's no corrosion don't worry- it's the "effect" of etching with white vinegar + brass residue =) it gives a different tinge to the etch which I fancy (but I understand it's not for everyone's aesthetic). Here's some more pics.