The traditional art of keris making

[Jean]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

I rather doubt that there are even 16 types of Iron ore in nature.

There are many many types of iron ores on earth but if these 16 types of iron product bear some reality, it can only be explained by the type and amounts of impurities (carbon, sulphur, nickel, silicium, etc...) into the iron after processing of the ore, which give them their specific properties, aspect, and colour. I would assume that some analysis of these various types of iron were performed in the labs of the Javanese Universities.
Regards