Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 25th December 2006, 05:05 AM

Yeah Rick, the final job looks like its come up OK, and with the finish you describe, the original break is probably not obvious in the hand.

When you say "ordinary woodworking glue", exactly what is that in your part of the world?

Jason, I've never heard of urushi lacquer, and it does sound like great stuff, but I doubt that it would be suitable for use on keris parts. The better wrongkos are finished with a french polish, or in the case of some woods, no sealant at all, just a burnished finish. This lacquer would not give a finish that would look correct.

When I mentioned "artist's colour", I was talking about the dry powdered pigment, not oil paints. You can mix these pigments with epoxies and do some wonderful fake-up work.

Here is link that will tell you what Plastibond is:-

http://trade.selleys.com.au/ItemDisplay.aspx?ItemID=68

its a while since I bought any, and it used to come in one form only, but now it looks like they produce two types. Its great stuff. I've used it for all sorts of things, including the bedding of rifle actions.

It is most definitely not anything like plastic wood, which I reckon should be taken off the market. Its horrible stuff.

As Jason says, you can mix sawdust with epoxy resins, and often get a pretty fair finish,if I use sawdust, I prefer to mix a trial batch, see how it dries, and then adjust for final variance by using pigment mixed with the sawdust.

You can also mix iron filings with epoxy to hide holes in metal. This is one of the great traps with old keris in the Javanese markets---they'll fill holes in blades in places where there should not be holes, and after acid treatment and warangan, you won't find where that fill is, unless you expect it, and go over the blade with a loupe.

One of our members has a wrongko that is the most brilliant repair job I have ever seen. This wrongko was total, total trash before it was repaired, but for several reasons we decided to see if a satisfactory repair could be achieved. It was done by the man whom I consider to be the best tukang wrongko currently working in Solo, and the job he did was wonderful. Possibly our member may feel inclined to show a photo or two of this wrongko, if he reads this.

25th December 2006, 05:05 AM	#13
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,700	Yeah Rick, the final job looks like its come up OK, and with the finish you describe, the original break is probably not obvious in the hand. When you say "ordinary woodworking glue", exactly what is that in your part of the world? Jason, I've never heard of urushi lacquer, and it does sound like great stuff, but I doubt that it would be suitable for use on keris parts. The better wrongkos are finished with a french polish, or in the case of some woods, no sealant at all, just a burnished finish. This lacquer would not give a finish that would look correct. When I mentioned "artist's colour", I was talking about the dry powdered pigment, not oil paints. You can mix these pigments with epoxies and do some wonderful fake-up work. Here is link that will tell you what Plastibond is:- http://trade.selleys.com.au/ItemDisplay.aspx?ItemID=68 its a while since I bought any, and it used to come in one form only, but now it looks like they produce two types. Its great stuff. I've used it for all sorts of things, including the bedding of rifle actions. It is most definitely not anything like plastic wood, which I reckon should be taken off the market. Its horrible stuff. As Jason says, you can mix sawdust with epoxy resins, and often get a pretty fair finish,if I use sawdust, I prefer to mix a trial batch, see how it dries, and then adjust for final variance by using pigment mixed with the sawdust. You can also mix iron filings with epoxy to hide holes in metal. This is one of the great traps with old keris in the Javanese markets---they'll fill holes in blades in places where there should not be holes, and after acid treatment and warangan, you won't find where that fill is, unless you expect it, and go over the blade with a loupe. One of our members has a wrongko that is the most brilliant repair job I have ever seen. This wrongko was total, total trash before it was repaired, but for several reasons we decided to see if a satisfactory repair could be achieved. It was done by the man whom I consider to be the best tukang wrongko currently working in Solo, and the job he did was wonderful. Possibly our member may feel inclined to show a photo or two of this wrongko, if he reads this.