Does cleaning a keris hurt overall value or patina?

[Mytribalworld]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hi Arjan,

the same advice i can give to you: First read, than think and when you need think again before attack someone!

In this case please read the post #44 in this link again:http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11844

The same advice to read all in this thread i have given to Dave. There you can see that I not general clean all keris and that everybody have take his own desicion how to conserve his keris!

BTW, when you look at the keris (the link have given David) you will see that the sarung of the keris haven't a patina like you may think and a careful polish of the wood (this advice I have given there already) will bring out a better appearance, by this I am sure.

Regards,

Detlef

Hi Detlef,

it was certainly not mentioned as "attack" so sorry, if it felt like that.
what I only "attacked" was the statement "you can't clean real patina" but this is already answered by David.

indeed I didn't looked on the other thread as I not often visit the keris threads but was "alarmed" by the subject of this thread "

Does cleaning a keris hurt overall value or patina? what is a general question and what is not as easy to answer.

what is just cleaning for one can be polishing and scrubbing for the other
cleaning and cleaning seems to be two as we are all different.

As owner of the object every collector is of course free to do with his objects to do what he wants.As collector/dealer but also restorer, I see the treasurebox of quality weaponery shrinking with the years.
One of the reasons for that shrinking is that the parts are cleaned,exchanged or "repaired" without knowledge. I have see superb scarce bali kerisses looking suddenly different when the handle was exhanged by a fake one ! when I asked about this misbehavior the answer was " well that's normal like we do in keris country"
misglued cracks with superglue,bisonkit etc impossible to restore without breaking/damaging again.
Lately a visit from a customer who had "just cleaned a little" the object I wished I never had sold him.

Of course I know that members of this forum would never do so, but gladly I have taked the oportunity to encourage to be carefull,very carefull.
Only than we can enjoy our stuff and keep collecting also in the future and I hope my son ( now 5 months) also when he is grown up.

regards,

Arjan