View Single Post
Old 9th June 2022, 02:04 PM   #12
David
Keris forum moderator
 
David's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,026
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tom22 View Post
Hi Ian , Thanks for your welcome and accepting me in this forum ,
I have just looked up how to etch blades and i would be a bit nervous how to exactly go about it , Is it advisable to sand down a blade like this , or is there a way of lightly etching it maybe ?
Beautiful "archaic" style kris.
I don't know what you found when you looked up how to etch blades, but generally the etch done on Moro blades is a light etch. When i have done this i have used vinegar, which acts slowly and relatively gently. As advised, i would certainly not sand the blade in any way. You don't want to remove the topography that currently exists on the blade. But if you were to etch in in vinegar you could use a toothbrush to work along the blade. Even more fine grades of steel wool would help to clean our crevices before etching without removing any steel or wearing down the surface. A good cleaning and light etch will indeed make this pattern pop better. But if there is no rust and you are happy with the current look i think that is also fine.
I agree with Jean that this pommel is definitely old ivory, not bone. while the hilt and pommel are probably more recent than the blade i think this hilt might be a bit older than originally suspected when it first appeared to be wood.
Have you been able to identify the material of the ferrule? Is it actually silver of some other white metal?
David is offline   Reply With Quote