Nagasasra luk 11

[satsujinken]

Originally Posted by Jean

Hello Donny,
From the pictures of your blade (not very clear) and your story, it seems to me that it was probably made in Madura some 30 years ago after the renaissance of the kris making there but other opinions are welcome.
And thank you for the explanation about your preference for choji oil: you are certainly correct that the commercial pusaka oils available in Java are variable in quality and potentially acidic. Regarding choji oil, it seems that it is made from about 1% clove oil diluted into mineral oil, so the difference with pure mineral oil may just be the scent?
Regards

Hello Jean

I incline to think that this blade is newly made, as the level of corrosion is not as the same as old krisses I've seen. But on the other hand, I've seen precious collection which definitely old, certified, owned by people who loved keris yet looked like kamardikan blade in terms of wutuh

Is there other - more reliable method to determine the age of a blade ??
learning about ricikan, corrosion, tantingan, dhapur, garap etc can only gave "approximate" age of a blade.

even though I held the blade in my hand ... I still can be mistaken

and the funny thing is, people tend to be "afraid", even "angry" if their blades was judged as kamardikan or "newly made" ... so that when we asked someone or elder about certain keris, they usually refused to answer if they think it was kamardikan

for me, kamardikan or not, it is still a beautiful, complex and harmonious weapon ... and I wanted our future generations to be able to held the blade, see it with their own eyes instead of looking at its pictures

and yes, only about 1% of the choji is clove oil - and clove oil is acidic, but considering it's only about 1%, overall it is still safe, my litmus paper shows that pH of choji is slightly below 7

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Thank you for your response Satsujinken

Logical and perfectly understandable.

I personally prefer oils that smell of sandalwood, but I do not use the keris oils sold in Jawa as these are not at all friendly to anything, I mix my own oil using synthetic sandalwood, natural kenanga and medicinal paraffin. I have no idea of the Ph of this oil, but I've been using it for a very long time with no adverse effects.

If preservation of the blade is the primary consideration, modern gun oils give the best protection, and it is a basic principle of metals conservation that ferric materials should not be stored resting on or against cellulose materials. Wood is cellulose. Blades are best preserved when kept in out of contact with wood, cloth and other similar materials.

In respect of the blade, I would prefer not to comment.

Hello Sir

just call me Donny.

about sandalwood oil - do you think it is possible that some older blades got oiled very often, so that even though the blade is cleaned thoroughly, it is still smell like sandalwood ?

I got one old pedang sabet, which was made not as tosan aji, but as weapon, true weapon for battle. and its blade smells like sandalwood, even though I have cleaned it many many times and oiled it with choji ... and it still smells strongly of sandalwood

since I did not believe in magic, I believe that this was due to the pores of the steel that opened up during rust removal process, that sucked up sandalwood oil or powder afterwards and retain it within the structures of the blade, so that the blade smells like sandalwood and able to retain the smell despite regular cleaning

apart from above, this pedang sabet truly able to send shiver down your spine when holding it ... and this is something I found it hard to explain, feeling is almost the same when I held my katana, one that I have known to take human lives before.

back to topic - so basically is it better to store the blade outside its sheath ?? as I plan to make some kind of acrylic stand for my keris with small tags described the blade (name, etc). Silica gel will also help, I think