Shellac for warangka

[Sajen]

A few more he restored for me, all are finished with shellac.

[Rick]

Milandro, I have used the method shown in the second video with some success, although I was looking for a finish that was not as bright as Sajens restorer has gotten. I was looking for a more subdued shine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGTZt_6T9vw

I used clear shellac thinned down with grain alcohol to about the consistency of water. Leftover Grain alcohol is saved for making Glogg or extracts.
There is really no grain to be highlighted on this scabbard, and I can't remember how many applications I did; it was probably 10 at least.

[A. G. Maisey]

I had a look at that youtube clip Rick.

You see the way the demonstrator is applying the shellac? He's working with the grain the whole way.

OK, he's got some sort of finish, but in applying any polish to wood and applying by working with the grain is something that you just don't do.

By using the figure of eight application method you're getting a deposit of the polish material into the grain. Typically you'd start in the top left hand corner and work in that figure of eight pattern either across or down.

I was taught to use the polish by taking it from an open container --- like a saucer --- and just dipping the rubber into it, you can continue working without stopping if the polish is right there just to use, instead of stopping, applying to the rubber from a bottle, then starting again.

Also using balled up cloth as the stuff inside the rubber is really not a professional way to work.

There are probably a million ways to apply shellac, I was taught one way starting when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I've known a few professional polishers since then. The blokes who get paid to do the job all seem to use the way I was taught, but with minor variations.

[Rick]

Not really recommending that approach, Alan.
I just threw it out there as my experience that I had w/the stuff without doing any research.

[A. G. Maisey]

OK Rick, understood.

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by Sajen

A few more he restored for me, all are finished with shellac.

I feel too shiny

[milandro]

Hello @Rick, very nice job (altough I would have gone for a somewhat less shiny look myself)! Of course there are many roads leading to Rome or anywhere else. There are traditional ways and methods as there are unconventional ones. In the end, I think, the proof of any pudding is in the eating.

There are so many people out there doing so many things right and wrong with everything.

I recently bought a Bugis Kris. I always clean things and I noticed that some tan colored stuff came off. I believe it was shoepolish!

The majority of pieces available on the market (at least to me) have been around and sometimes it is difficult to tell what was done to them.

As for the methods, unless you are the conservator of a museum, which is different thing, I believe that one can honor the kris by giving the kris the level of care that you deem is appropriate.

[David]

Originally Posted by milandro

Hello @Rick, very nice job (altogh I would have gone for a somewhat less shiny look myself)! Of course there are many roads leading to Rome or anywhere else. There are traditional ways and methods as there are unconventional ones. In the end, I think, the proof of any pudding is in the eating.

There are so many people out there doing so many things right and wrong with everything.

I recently bought a Bugis Kris. I always clean things and I noticed that some tan colored stuff came off. I believe it was shoepolish!

The majority of pieces available on the market (at least to me) have been around and sometimes it is difficult to tell what was done to them.

As for the methods, unless you are the conservator of a museum, which is different thing, I believe that one can honor the kris by giving the kris the level of care that you deem is appropriate.

Yes, there are many different methods. But while the proof of any pudding might be in the eating, it is also important to take into account who will be doing the eating.
We all have different approaches to our collections, but as a collector who originates from well outside the cultures of these beautiful objects i collect my best approach is that if i do change anything on a keris i have acquired i want to do so within the parameters of how these changes/renovations would be approached within the culture of origin. Keep in mind that this probably won't be exactly the same for a Javanese keris as it might be for a Bugis keris from Sulawesi, Peninsula keris, etc.
Most importantly though is my belief that i should not be changing the look of a keris blade or dress just to suit what might be my own Western aesthetic. From my perspective it is my place to preserve the culture of the artifacts i collect, not make them my own. So i try to be careful not to apply my personal tastes too heavily to the keris in my collection. Which isn't to say i don't collect keris that are to a certain extent already to my taste zones. I just don't feel it is my place to "improve" upon them beyond maintenance and conservation.
Of course we can not always be sure where a keris has been or who from what culture has done what to a keris ensemble before it has come under our custodianship. Was the "shoe polish" on you sheath applied by a Bugis owner of some later collector from outside that culture? Hard to say for sure, but i would probably have removed it as you also may have done. We have to operate on our best intuition sometimes to decide what should or should not be done, or perhaps "corrected" in any of the keris we collect along the way. I usually try my best never to do anything that isn't reversible.

[David]

Originally Posted by Anthony G.

I feel too shiny

Detlef, i am afraid i agree with both Rick and Anthony on this, at least in regards to the Javanese wrongko that you had refinished. Could just be the light you photographed them in, but these seem a bit to glossy.
I have rarely had occasion to do this type of finishing on keris wrongko. The one time i did do this type of work was when i was fitting a new, unfinished wrongko to an old keris blade. I was not particularly happy with the stain i used on the wood (which i believe may have been sandalwood), but i am happy with the finish. The stain i chose may have had a bit too much red in the colour for my tastes. For the final finish though i used Birchwood Casey Tru Oil, which is considered a gun stock finish. I applied multiple layers of the finish, bringing is down each time with 0000 steel wool each time, until i had built up about 5 or 6 layers. This was many years ago. Not sure if i would do it differently today.