The ultimate meteorite Keris!

Pusaka · 13th November 2005, 02:53 PM

There is one thing I would love to try with regards to keris. Have you ever tried to make a keris from just Meteorite steel. Now remember the difference between steel and Iron, I know it is common to make a keris using Meteorite Iron but what about meteorite steel? First you would need a furnace which can produce very high temperatures. Get a large good quality meteorite and sand blast the surface to remove all the outer impurity's until the meteorite is shiny. Now you need to find out what percentage of the meteorite is Iron. Melt the meteorite down and add a calculated quantity of black carbon to the melt and cap it. All the impurity's will come to the top, remove it and what you will have left at the bottom is pure Meteorite steel, not Iron.
Take this steel and make a keris with it adding nothing else. As far as I know this has not been done before because you will need a special vacuum furnace to de-gas the melt but I have been talking to western metal experts and they say it is possible as long as you select the correct Meteorite to start with.
Imagine that, a pure meteorite blade :-) I would love to make it, want to help me!!! lol

Jens Nordlunde · 13th November 2005, 03:20 PM

Here is how they did it in the old days.
Arms and Jewellery of the Indian Mughuls, Lahor 1947, written by Abdul Aziz.
In the book he tells about Shah Jahangir, and about a falling meteor. The meteor fell around 10 April 1621 close to a village called Jalandhar. The meteor was dug up and presented to Shah Jahangir:
I ordered Master (Ustad) Daud to make a sword, a dagger and a knife out of it, and bring them to me. He represented that it would not stand below the hammer, and fell too pieces. I told him in that case to mix it with other iron and make use of it. As I had told him, he mixed three parts of lightening-iron and one of other iron, and having made two swords, one dagger, and one knife, brought them to me. From the mixing of other iron he had brought out its quality (watering). According to the manner of the excellent swords of Yaman and [the swords of] the South, it could be bent, and became straight again. I ordered him to test it in my presence. It cut very well, equal to true swords. I called one the Shamshir-I-qati (keen sword) and the other Barq-sirisht (lightening-natured).

Pusaka · 13th November 2005, 03:29 PM

Sounds very interesting but the idea of a meteorite blade with nothing added to it but a pinch of carbon appeals to me more

Lightning steel...hmm..you are talking about a steel lightning rod which has been struck with lightning several times? I like that idea too

Maybe we can make the meteorite blade and then fix it to the top of a lightning rod and then we will have Lightning Meteorite steel, this is getting better by the second

nechesh · 13th November 2005, 03:33 PM

As much as i hate to get on to this same ol' bend, it was hardly "common" to make keris out of meteoric iron. It was more the exception, reserved for important keris of the day. Meteorite in itself is a rare commodity and the proper nickelous iron that was used on these special keris is even rarer.
Don't know how i could help you on your quest Pusaka, but when you finish i would love to see it posted here.

I can tell you that you will have an extremely hard time finding a keris smith who could actually pull this off and the cost to you will be quite extravagant. But by all means, have at it, mate!

Pusaka · 13th November 2005, 03:43 PM

Who wants to hold the ladder while I go up with a hacksaw to remove my bit of Lightning steel from the local Church, Its old and I bet it been struck several times

LOL

nechesh · 13th November 2005, 03:54 PM

Hey Pusaka, before you get busted stealing the local church's lightning rod, i think the reference to "lightning iron" in Jens quote is to the meteorite itself, not iron struck by lightning.

Pusaka · 13th November 2005, 04:05 PM

Its ok I don’t like heights anyway so I changed my mind about going up there LOL

All this joking has reminded me of something though. Tibetan phurba daggers were made from meteorite iron and then fixed to a lightning conductor at the temple so they would get struck by lightning, so the idea is not new after all

13th November 2005, 02:53 PM	#1
Pusaka Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 341	The ultimate meteorite Keris! There is one thing I would love to try with regards to keris. Have you ever tried to make a keris from just Meteorite steel. Now remember the difference between steel and Iron, I know it is common to make a keris using Meteorite Iron but what about meteorite steel? First you would need a furnace which can produce very high temperatures. Get a large good quality meteorite and sand blast the surface to remove all the outer impurity's until the meteorite is shiny. Now you need to find out what percentage of the meteorite is Iron. Melt the meteorite down and add a calculated quantity of black carbon to the melt and cap it. All the impurity's will come to the top, remove it and what you will have left at the bottom is pure Meteorite steel, not Iron. Take this steel and make a keris with it adding nothing else. As far as I know this has not been done before because you will need a special vacuum furnace to de-gas the melt but I have been talking to western metal experts and they say it is possible as long as you select the correct Meteorite to start with. Imagine that, a pure meteorite blade :-) I would love to make it, want to help me!!! lol

13th November 2005, 03:20 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Here is how they did it in the old days. Arms and Jewellery of the Indian Mughuls, Lahor 1947, written by Abdul Aziz. In the book he tells about Shah Jahangir, and about a falling meteor. The meteor fell around 10 April 1621 close to a village called Jalandhar. The meteor was dug up and presented to Shah Jahangir: I ordered Master (Ustad) Daud to make a sword, a dagger and a knife out of it, and bring them to me. He represented that it would not stand below the hammer, and fell too pieces. I told him in that case to mix it with other iron and make use of it. As I had told him, he mixed three parts of lightening-iron and one of other iron, and having made two swords, one dagger, and one knife, brought them to me. From the mixing of other iron he had brought out its quality (watering). According to the manner of the excellent swords of Yaman and [the swords of] the South, it could be bent, and became straight again. I ordered him to test it in my presence. It cut very well, equal to true swords. I called one the Shamshir-I-qati (keen sword) and the other Barq-sirisht (lightening-natured).

13th November 2005, 03:29 PM	#3
Pusaka Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 341	Sounds very interesting but the idea of a meteorite blade with nothing added to it but a pinch of carbon appeals to me more Lightning steel...hmm..you are talking about a steel lightning rod which has been struck with lightning several times? I like that idea too Maybe we can make the meteorite blade and then fix it to the top of a lightning rod and then we will have Lightning Meteorite steel, this is getting better by the second

13th November 2005, 03:33 PM	#4
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	As much as i hate to get on to this same ol' bend, it was hardly "common" to make keris out of meteoric iron. It was more the exception, reserved for important keris of the day. Meteorite in itself is a rare commodity and the proper nickelous iron that was used on these special keris is even rarer. Don't know how i could help you on your quest Pusaka, but when you finish i would love to see it posted here. I can tell you that you will have an extremely hard time finding a keris smith who could actually pull this off and the cost to you will be quite extravagant. But by all means, have at it, mate!

13th November 2005, 03:43 PM	#5
Pusaka Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 341	Who wants to hold the ladder while I go up with a hacksaw to remove my bit of Lightning steel from the local Church, Its old and I bet it been struck several times LOL

13th November 2005, 03:54 PM	#6
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Hey Pusaka, before you get busted stealing the local church's lightning rod, i think the reference to "lightning iron" in Jens quote is to the meteorite itself, not iron struck by lightning.

13th November 2005, 04:05 PM	#7
Pusaka Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 341	Its ok I don’t like heights anyway so I changed my mind about going up there LOL All this joking has reminded me of something though. Tibetan phurba daggers were made from meteorite iron and then fixed to a lightning conductor at the temple so they would get struck by lightning, so the idea is not new after all