3 worn out keris

A. G. Maisey · 13th February 2020, 05:04 AM

That's coming up OK, but you see all those little black dots, well, they need to be cleaned out.

I use two tools for this, a dentists pick, and a saddlers awl with a fine blade in it, I also use a machinists loupe, about 2.5X or 3X. You need to dig the rubbish out of those pits, if you do not, over time rust will usually spread from them.

Ordinary mineral oil after the WD40 is fine. Medicinal paraffin or Singer sewing machine oil is what I use, but I add a fragrant oil to that. The fragrance does nothing in the way of protection, but it is traditional.

When it has been oiled, it is best to store it in a plastic sleeve.

The gunk in the joint between blade & gonjo is nearly always full of rubbish in old keris, a full restoration would involve removal, cleaning and a tight refix, for the last 50 years most m'ranggis have used a two part epoxy cement on the joining surfaces, not to hold the blade and gonjo together, but to protect against further erosion. Since this is your first, I would suggest that you do not attempt the demount of the gonjo, just clean out what gunk you can with a pick and let the oil soak in.

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13th February 2020, 05:04 AM	#12
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	That's coming up OK, but you see all those little black dots, well, they need to be cleaned out. I use two tools for this, a dentists pick, and a saddlers awl with a fine blade in it, I also use a machinists loupe, about 2.5X or 3X. You need to dig the rubbish out of those pits, if you do not, over time rust will usually spread from them. Ordinary mineral oil after the WD40 is fine. Medicinal paraffin or Singer sewing machine oil is what I use, but I add a fragrant oil to that. The fragrance does nothing in the way of protection, but it is traditional. When it has been oiled, it is best to store it in a plastic sleeve. The gunk in the joint between blade & gonjo is nearly always full of rubbish in old keris, a full restoration would involve removal, cleaning and a tight refix, for the last 50 years most m'ranggis have used a two part epoxy cement on the joining surfaces, not to hold the blade and gonjo together, but to protect against further erosion. Since this is your first, I would suggest that you do not attempt the demount of the gonjo, just clean out what gunk you can with a pick and let the oil soak in.