Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Need example of Pamors: Meteor, Luwu, and modern Nickel

A. G. Maisey · 22nd June 2010, 12:23 AM

The product of a smelt is called pig iron.

Pig iron has a very high carbon content that makes it very difficult to work, so it is refined into wrought iron. The word "wrought" means worked. There are and have been various methods used to turn pig iron into wrought iron.

Wrought iron has a very low carbon content, the more it has been refined, the lower the carbon content, the higher the weld temperature, and the easier to weld and to work.

Theoretically mild steel can have a similar carbon content to some types of wrought iron, but in practice good wrought iron has a much higher weld temperature than mild steel, which indicates a much lower carbon content.

Wrought iron has a fibrous appearance that is contributed to by inclusions of slag; during the refining and cleaning processes slag is broken up and removed along with excess carbon.

Iron can be turned into steel by the addition of carbon. When the carbon is only added to the outside layers of the iron we call this "case hardening", and it is not at all the same as incorporating carbon into the iron and making it an alloy.

All wrought iron will show a fibrous texture after it has been worked, but to see this texture it is necessary to etch the surface, and sometimes to use magnification. If we have not seen fibrous inclusions & etc, it is because we have not used the techniques and skills of metallurgical investigation an analysis.

Rasdan, some of the information you are seeking is really within the sphere of metallurgical analysis. You're moving away from the very simple visual examination that keris fanciers use. I've tried to give a simple, brief outline of the area you're moving into, but if you wish to learn more, you are going to need to carry out study specific to metallurgy. Forget about keris in this context until you get some foundation in metallurgy.

I have the results of many analyses of old keris and tombak blades that were carried out by Professor Jerzy Piaskowski of Poland. These give a very good guide to the actual content of old Javanese blade material.In fact, in some old Javanese blades, wootz was used.

22nd June 2010, 12:23 AM	#33
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,721	The product of a smelt is called pig iron. Pig iron has a very high carbon content that makes it very difficult to work, so it is refined into wrought iron. The word "wrought" means worked. There are and have been various methods used to turn pig iron into wrought iron. Wrought iron has a very low carbon content, the more it has been refined, the lower the carbon content, the higher the weld temperature, and the easier to weld and to work. Theoretically mild steel can have a similar carbon content to some types of wrought iron, but in practice good wrought iron has a much higher weld temperature than mild steel, which indicates a much lower carbon content. Wrought iron has a fibrous appearance that is contributed to by inclusions of slag; during the refining and cleaning processes slag is broken up and removed along with excess carbon. Iron can be turned into steel by the addition of carbon. When the carbon is only added to the outside layers of the iron we call this "case hardening", and it is not at all the same as incorporating carbon into the iron and making it an alloy. All wrought iron will show a fibrous texture after it has been worked, but to see this texture it is necessary to etch the surface, and sometimes to use magnification. If we have not seen fibrous inclusions & etc, it is because we have not used the techniques and skills of metallurgical investigation an analysis. Rasdan, some of the information you are seeking is really within the sphere of metallurgical analysis. You're moving away from the very simple visual examination that keris fanciers use. I've tried to give a simple, brief outline of the area you're moving into, but if you wish to learn more, you are going to need to carry out study specific to metallurgy. Forget about keris in this context until you get some foundation in metallurgy. I have the results of many analyses of old keris and tombak blades that were carried out by Professor Jerzy Piaskowski of Poland. These give a very good guide to the actual content of old Javanese blade material.In fact, in some old Javanese blades, wootz was used.