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23rd June 2012, 03:00 AM
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#1 |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 41
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Toothbrush To the Rescue!
Salaams, Ibrahiim,
What an incredible coincidence -- you advised use of toothbrush and paste, which is precisely what I stumbled upon myself, just yesterday. Great minds thinking alike, etc.  Actually dug out a lot of the broken resin, then heated the back of the blade red-hot over a fire in my ashtray, jammed the back of the blade into the remaining resin and -- viola! It seated itself! To be safe, I did line the new seal with epoxy, let it cure for a day, then drilled it down far enough so the hilt could fit onto the scabbard (which is sparkling cleaning and brand spanking new, thanks to the ol' toothbrush - n - silver cream polish treatment!) Result? The little khanjar shines, is functional and beautiful. Even though the seller offered to refund our purchase price, I chose to keep it and repair it. Now my wife no longer gives me The Look....you know the one.  Only problem now is, where to hang it? (Please see pics attached) * Above the big Scimitar? * Above the Koummyas? * Or leave it in its current spot? * Right below the flag from my father's coffin (WWII Vet)? And HOW to hang it on a wall without damaging the khanjar or the belt? Hmmmm.... Any ideas greatly appreciated. All best, JRF |
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24th June 2012, 07:05 AM
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#2 | |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE
Posts: 4,408
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Quote:
Salaams NovelsRus ~ I think it looks great exactly where it is. Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. |
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25th June 2012, 10:52 AM
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#3 |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE
Posts: 4,408
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Patina.
Salaams all, I am sometimes asked why we clean Khanjars (and Swords) thus taking off what collectors call Patina.
Naturally collectors admire and seek that syndrome we call patina but in the living breathing form i.e. Local Arab users of what we call ethnographic arms here in Arabia the view is different. These khanjars are for wearing and against a pure white dishdash, Omani national dress, the weapons must be spotlessly clean... Otherwise the silver oxide makes an awful mess as it rubs off onto the white dishdash robes ! Its as simple as that. It is for that reason that Khanjars are lined at the back with either leather or felt cloth. Perhaps if you think of gold as the sun and silver the moon neither should be portrayed as dull...It should be remembered that they are the badge of office as head of the family, thus, can hardly be worn dirty. Quite often khanjars come in for cleaning... removal of the patina... but rest assured patina on silver returns really fast. It is continually oxidising ... In the store we have new items under glass which oxidise quite slowly and other khanjars... 50 or so hanging on the wall... that are full of patina ... A local client will often ask that a khanjar is cleaned before he takes it... It takes an hour... We use the same items as our silver workshops ... water and a brass bristled brush which only takes off the silver oxide and gives a burnished bright clean silver look... highly polished the khanjar is then dried in the sun, buffed with a clean cloth and ready for collection. Of course this is opposite to what many collectors want... but as I say... patina on silver returns very quickly and in a few months it is complete ... at which point the collector may wish to highlight certain aspects of the silver in a partial polish up thus keeping the contrasting older patina partly intact. Technically we don't actually remove patina but only by definition remove the "silver oxide" The old, rounded, soft effect to silver items is therefor enhanced but I hope my explanation describes the two views of the same subject. Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi. |
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25th June 2012, 11:03 AM
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#4 |
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Kuwait
Posts: 1,340
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Great info Ibrahim, makes alot of sense. Thanks.
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