[A. G. Maisey]

I think that there are probably several things that we can say about this "corrosive process" Rick.

Firstly we're dealing with a wet tropical climate. Polished ferric material is always going to rust, and rust pretty quick.

So, the stain that is applied to a keris blade is similar in protective effect to the protection afforded by blueing, but before we can apply that stain, we need to get the ferric material nice and shiny white.

We can polish the corrosion off, or we can remove it chemically --- the "corrosive process".

The Balinese people polish it off with wet sand and lime, this results in the entire blade surface being reduced over time.

The Javanese people clean the rust away with a mild acid that when used correctly has virtually no effect at all on the un-corroded surfaces of the blade.

Regrettably not everybody who attempts to clean a blade is either properly trained, or careful, and the result is that instead of only the rust disappearing the surfaces that are not yet rusted also lose a little bit of matter.

Then we have that great common attribute of the Human Race:- laziness.

Why be careful when it is easier to throw something into a tub of acid ?

Or maybe we can consider the cost of cleaning compared to the value of the article. What I know is this:- common keris that have little value are not going to have as much money spent on them to clean and stain, as the keris may be worth. However, the cleaning and staining of a truly valuable keris will be done with extreme care.