when the subject of keris cleaning comes up and the word 'steel wool' is used, i cringe!
it's the last thing I want to disagree with Mr Maisey whom I and everybody here consider an expert , but for a beginner like myself to use steel wool to clean even rusty keris is probably a bit risky?
I've voiced in this forum several times that the westerners are wont to 'over clean' the blades into shiny surface, whereas most locals (at least in Malaysia) prefer to leave the blade in the original texture which is usually somewhat grainy almost like v fine sandpaper texture. Hence the usual mode of aggresive cleaning is merely using hard tootbrush after a long dip in coconut juice or merely clean it with lime juice with hard rub with thumb and finger? (that's how i saw Bugis people clean their keris anyway).
Here is an example of what I consider an over cleaned blade into v shiny and smooth surface which may not rust again for a 100 years
... however i think this blade (mine) is already damaged especially the edges of the grooves and spine look abraded?
Can anyone suggest what I should do ? either to leave it as it is (as one keris maker here in Kelantan suggested) or restore the texture by dipping in acid like how the keris makers treat their blades as the final finish?