eBay Toss of the Dice (NEW PICS!)

[danny1976]

hi David,


can you please show some picture,s of the blade

[David]

Originally Posted by danny1976

hi David,
can you please show some picture,s of the blade

I will Danny, but i want to do some work on it first, remove the cosmoline which is like a resin coating the blade and fix up the dress a bit. I am having difficulties with the hilt though. After 2 days of off and on heating the thing won't budge and i am afraid the previous owner used some serious glue to stick it.

[David]

OK folks, here's some quick first pictures of my preliminary renovation. I will probably take a better crack at the blade in the spring when the weather gets warmer and i can properly stain it. For now it's fine, even though i don't think i got all that nasty cosmoline off the blade yet. I finally got the hilt off and found that i needed to straighten the pesi. It could probably still go a bit straighter, but since i wasn't heating it i didn't want to go too far and snap it off. I did some minor refinishing on the scabbard and discovered that the dress is actually 3-tone as the hilt is darker than the wrongko. I was going to stain it all one tone, but have decide to leave it as is for now. I added a uwer i had lying around, not so much for the aesthetic, but more because the hilt doesn't fit all the way down and my drill bits didn't reach far enough to deepen the hole, but i think this uwer fits well.
Frankly i'm not too disappointed in the dress even though it is in the mode of what we have come to refer to as "tourist" dress. I think we have discussed this a little before, but i wonder when and for what original purpose this form of dress developed. This one is carved a little better than most and the wood is heavy and semi dense. The Kocet-Kocetan is not the worst i have ever seen. It is not a fine work of art, but it is nicely stylized and complete.
Ah, but the blade is what i took the chance on and i feel that my gamble paid off nicely. A well formed 15.5 inch gently curving 9 luk blade with deeply cut ricikan, good pamor and (BONUS!) a triangle of gold kinatah at the Bawang Sebungkul. There is also remnants of the same on the reverse side. I am not well versed on the difference in dhapur for different periods in Bali, but something tells me this might be an earlier blade. There is something about the way the features belly out at the gandik that makes me think so, but i might me off on this thought.
Anyway, enjoy the pics. I don't often post may keris, but you've all seen the eBay images and i am sure you would want to see better shots.

[Atlantia]

I think it looks great. What will you use to restain it when you get around to it?

[David]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

I think it looks great. What will you use to restain it when you get around to it?

Warangan....Arsenic and lime.

[Rick]

Doesn't look like it needs a re-staining, David ..

Or are you just that good w/Photoshop, Bro ?

Looks old !

[David]

Originally Posted by Rick

Doesn't look like it needs a re-staining, David ..

Or are you just that good w/Photoshop, Bro ?

Looks old !

Maybe not for now. As i said, some of the cosmoline remains and at the very least i need to get that off. The current stain isn't too bad, but it is uneven, especially around the edges as i don't think this has pamor wengkon...
Not bad for 60 bucks, eh?

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by David

Warangan....Arsenic and lime.

LOL, I was assuming that there was an alternative to arsenic!
Is it available to the public in the USA?

[David]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

LOL, I was assuming that there was an alternative to arsenic!
Is it available to the public in the USA?

Many people have tried alternative, some more successful than others, but i am of the opinion that the traditional method is indeed the best.
I got some arsenic trioxide pre-9/11. It wasn't too difficult, or maybe i just got lucky. I had to find a company that was capable of buying from the big lab companies and found one local to me that was willing to do it for me. The rules may be stricter today, but i still have a fair supply available as a little goes a long way.

[GIO]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

LOL, I was assuming that there was an alternative to arsenic!
Is it available to the public in the USA?

I also use warangan, but was told that somebody gets very good results with iron chloride (or iron sulphur ?). I Don't remember well, sorry. I have seen a couple of blades etched this way and the result was perfect.
Maybe other friends are better informed.

[asomotif]

Originally Posted by David

Warangan....Arsenic and lime.

Hello David,

A very nice blade. the dress is not my style, but looks like a harmonious ensemble.

But why stain the blade ?
This looks like a bali stain to me. Are you able to get the same effect by restaining it ? Or will you create a javanese rough surface stain ?

IMO, I would leave it and keep it well oiled.

Best regards,
Willem

[David]

Originally Posted by asomotif

But why stain the blade ?
This looks like a bali stain to me. Are you able to get the same effect by restaining it ? Or will you create a javanese rough surface stain ?

IMO, I would leave it and keep it well oiled.

I do address this question in posts #15, 17 and 20 and the bottom lineis that i might very well just leave it as is.
To answer your other question i have indeed managed to stain Bali blades in the past and maintain a fairly smooth and polished appearance on the surface. If i were to stain this blade i would certain attempt to maintain the finish in this manner.
If you look at the very first image of the blade close-up you can see a discoloring of the blade. I think this is the remains of the cosmoline which completely covered this blade when i received it. So at the very least it is due for another bath in some mineral spirits down the line.
As for the dress i'd have to say that it would not be most people's style per se. But considering the price (and the fact that it of a higher quality than most of it's ilk) i think i can learn to live with it...