Old karambit

[A. G. Maisey]

Ian, the effect of warangan is to darken ferric material and to leave material containing nickel a lighter colour, If the contrasting material is pure nickel, it leaves it bright, if it is a mixture of nickel and iron the contrast will still be there but subdued in direct proportion to the percentages of iron and nickel.

There is a type of pamor called "pamor sanak", "sanak" means "related", so we can get a subdued type of pamor even when the contrast is created by a different type of iron. Very often we do not know whether a blade is made from a low contrast material until it has been etched and stained.

Where a blade is made with a high contrast material we should always expect to see a steel core to the blade. Iron blades, whether containing nickel or not, do not hold an edge particularly well. This is perhaps not all that important if the blade is a stabbing weapon, but many of these small knives are are work knives as well as weapons, so they must hold an edge.