Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

vogan · 14th November 2006, 03:16 PM

To Rick, I am glad to know that swapping out handles and mendaks is not a gross faux paux (within certain culturally sensitive parameters),- I have one Keris in particular where the mendak has a cheesy gilt appearance at odds with the rest of the ensemble, looking cheap and flashy in a tawdry sort of gum ball machine way. That is something I would like to change. As to “French Polishing,” a brief google search lead me to a site so detailed that I am afraid I might have to leave the “French polishing” to the odd museum conservator and those with more dedication and patience. This amateur is more inclined to go the route A.G. Maisey suggested and apply a standard of care commensurate with what I accord my firearms…. As what I’ve acquired thus far seem more in line with a sort of blue collar Keris, honest, unspectacular (relative to what’s out there) weapons for common individuals like myself. The caution against industrial strength adhesive and varnish is noted. I do possess one modern Keris, which looks like it belongs in a museum, and is handled and stored accordingly- but that is in a category by itself- and it arrived in pristine shape, so it is not in need of resuscitation. And one answer to a question to which I failed to find an answer, surprising to me given the amount of talk about cleaning ceremonies and the loss of a blade’s substance in the course of traditional cleaning, is the response that blades properly cared for will retain their pamor for decades, provided they were properly stained in the first place. I had been under the erroneous impression that pamor was somehow evanescent and fleeting and required arsenic baths every few years, and given a blade that was already worn to a wraith-like thinness as a result of traditional cleanings, was it really in the best interest of collector and blade to further reduce the mass in an effort to regain pamor. And as to David’s response- the gold Bayu hilt I lost out on so I am spared the temptation to jam one on top of an undistinguished blade and sheath….

14th November 2006, 03:16 PM	#5
vogan Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 10	Thank you for the thoughtful responses To Rick, I am glad to know that swapping out handles and mendaks is not a gross faux paux (within certain culturally sensitive parameters),- I have one Keris in particular where the mendak has a cheesy gilt appearance at odds with the rest of the ensemble, looking cheap and flashy in a tawdry sort of gum ball machine way. That is something I would like to change. As to “French Polishing,” a brief google search lead me to a site so detailed that I am afraid I might have to leave the “French polishing” to the odd museum conservator and those with more dedication and patience. This amateur is more inclined to go the route A.G. Maisey suggested and apply a standard of care commensurate with what I accord my firearms…. As what I’ve acquired thus far seem more in line with a sort of blue collar Keris, honest, unspectacular (relative to what’s out there) weapons for common individuals like myself. The caution against industrial strength adhesive and varnish is noted. I do possess one modern Keris, which looks like it belongs in a museum, and is handled and stored accordingly- but that is in a category by itself- and it arrived in pristine shape, so it is not in need of resuscitation. And one answer to a question to which I failed to find an answer, surprising to me given the amount of talk about cleaning ceremonies and the loss of a blade’s substance in the course of traditional cleaning, is the response that blades properly cared for will retain their pamor for decades, provided they were properly stained in the first place. I had been under the erroneous impression that pamor was somehow evanescent and fleeting and required arsenic baths every few years, and given a blade that was already worn to a wraith-like thinness as a result of traditional cleanings, was it really in the best interest of collector and blade to further reduce the mass in an effort to regain pamor. And as to David’s response- the gold Bayu hilt I lost out on so I am spared the temptation to jam one on top of an undistinguished blade and sheath….