well it is what it s ad until someone will create better ones , as it is, this is the only source of warangan information to the wider audience.

No, it is not the only source of warangan information. Information was just provided right here to a different method of applying warangan by Alan. It may be the only source produced in a video that is in English, but information has been passed between humans in other ways long before the invention of video.
And if the information presented in these videos is a method that is neither the easiest or best method for collectors looking to try their hand as an amateur mranggi, then accepting it simply because it is the only thing available in English is not particularly valid in my opinion. Myself and others are being critical of the videos because we find fault in them. Following advice simply because it is the only video you can find available may not be your best course of action.

I’ll rephrase so that the dots are on all the i’s , the only source of video information in English on warangan

When I’ll see more from any other person I’ll report here

the only precaution I took when I was using the warangan was not to smoke.... for obvious reasons I didn't want to touch the filter of the cigarette with my fingers wet with solution .... and it was a real torture for me not to smoke!!:D

Well, we all have done unsafe things and survived Marco. I know have. LOL!
Your skin is the largest organ of your body and arsenic can indeed be absorbed through the skin. My recommendationis don't do it. Use gloves if you need to come in contact with the solution. But as i stated before, there are mranggi in Java who have no doubt handled these materials barehanded for much of their lives. My policy though is better safe than sorry. ;)

As to the danger of handling arsenic.

Here in The Land of Oz (AKA: Australia), people who need to work with arsenic are routinely tested for arsenic levels in their body and appropriate action is taken.

In Jawa I have known a number of people who stain blades, some use the commercial method that the video shows us, or a variation thereof, others use the method I have set forth, or a variation thereof. None have been affected by, nor died of arsenic related diseases, most have died of emphysema or some other tobacco related disease.

Yes, there can be no question that arsenic can affect health. It is a possibility that depends upon the level of exposure. In many parts of the world, arsenic used to be used as a medication.

The easy availability of knowledge that has arisen since the proliferation of the internet is very tempting. The making of a video now is common. The big, very big, problem with this internet knowledge is that we need a very strong foundation of real knowledge to differentiate between true knowledge and waffle.

There is one hell of a lot of waffle on the net, and You Tube is a major offender. I sometimes think it is an intentional disinformation campaign to dumb everybody down to a pre-determined level. A tool of societal management.

The method that I have outlined above does work. Results can be improved by using slight variations, variations that I myself use, but that I am not prepared to recommend to others because of the possibility of somebody taking legal action against me.

I stained a lot of blades very successfully before I ever learnt the variations used in Central Jawa.

Some years ago I spent a day or so with a lady who worked in the museum industry, I ran her through the entire process of staining and when we parted she had a very good understanding of the process. My contribution was only a small part of the further research that she carried out. Eventually she produced an academic paper:-

Scroll down to page #19

https://aiccm.org.au/wp-content/uplo...June2007_0.pdf

Hi Alan, thanks for the sharing but do you happen to have a local pdf copy?

<Oops, This Page Could Not Be Found!>


I also support what Alan and David had just commented on safety. When i try warangan, I used disposable gloves and mask as i dislike the smell. Safety is essential when handling chemical and many videos do not enforce it. Many newbies might endanger themselves due to blindly following people's videos.

I put the link into this thread last night:-

Black stain spreading on keris during vinegar cleaning

I just checked it in that thread a moment ago and it takes you to where you need to be.

I put the same link into our thread here this morning and it doesn't work.

On the safety issue I support it 110% for everybody else, for myself I follow the Jawa/Bali philosophy.

Siwa's got my number, and when its time to move on, I don't have much of a say in the matter.

Yes, Alan. Indeed that is odd. I have taken liberty to download and upload here (pdf). I used the link in another msg of yours and the link works fine.

I understand this, also 110% and feel very much the same way, though i am not against hedging my bets with Siwa where possible. ;)
Of course i am sure you agree that the problem with videos like these is as Anthony suggests. Newbies see it on the web, they see the materials being handle without too much precaution, and they just assume these things are 100% safe. It's pretty irresponsible really, but there is not much we can do about it beyond stating the warnings here.

these are some new interesting videos from theKonservasi Museum Sonobudoyo from Yogyakarta


https://www.sonobudoyo.com/id/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s303D47pQ8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbDXRPDWjI

Thanks André. These are interesting, but i am confused about some of their methods.
In the first video they are cleaning the keris with the hilt attached, which seems very odd to me. I suppose there is a possibility that the hilt had been attached with some kind of adhesive and that they did not want to go through the trouble of removing it. But in that case, i this were mine, i believe i would have wrapped the hilt up as securely as i could in plastic wrap to protect it from the lime juice.
I also find it curious that they go to the trouble in both videos of first peeling the limes before juicing them. Seems like a lot of extra trouble. Is anyone aware of any negative effects if the lime is juiced while still in the rind?
In the second video they work on a naked blade and go to the next step of applying warangan. The first thing i noticed is that they don't bother to clean the blade back to "white", removing ALL the previous warangan, before proceeding. I have always been taught that this is essential to the process in order to get a good stain. Also interesting that after the warangan they apply cream soap. Perhaps this is supposed to help neutralize the acids. I have always used a slurry of baking powder to do that so using soap at this point is foreign to me. While the before and after images of their warangan process is indeed noticeable i have the feeling that a better stain is possible for this keris.

Sonobudaya comes up as a risky site, I dumped it.

First youtube, no comment

Second youtube, fair job

both youtubes were pretty abbreviated processes, I doubt that in the hand I would be satisfied with either result, these were just "touch-up" jobs.

the reason for peeling the lime before squeezing is that you can extract more juice from a peeled lime than from an unpeeled lime, especially if one does not own a lemon juicer.

personally, I like to avoid staining an older blade if it is reasonably free of corrosion and the pamor can still be read, often a wash under running warm water with dishwash detergent, and then a WD40 spray will give an acceptable result.

I do not use anything to attempt neutralisation of acids when I do an arsenic stain, I rinse thoroughly under running water & massage with my fingers, I pat dry with a lint free cloth, & I sun dry before oiling.

I do use bicarb slurry when I stain with ferric chloride, but we do not use this on tosanaji.