Provenance and wood type of sampir keris

Battara · 4th January 2005, 03:02 AM

W W! Love how the grain came out.

Montino Bourbon · 4th January 2005, 05:45 AM

I do hope that you apply french polish and other types of finishing with adequate ventilation! I have a friend that had to stop using that method because he had heart problems from it. Of course he probably did more than you do, because he is a musical instrument tech, but it'd good to be very safe with materials that vaporize.
By the way, the grain looks stunning! you did an excellent job. Remind me to ask you when I need that kind of work done!

rasdan · 4th January 2005, 06:10 AM

Thanks guys. Actually i the wood itself has quite an impressive grain but is not enhanced before. Whoa, i dont know that this sort of thing can cause heart problems. Thanks for the advice Montino, and i will be happy to help anybody in restoration works. Thanks also to Dave for introducing french polish to me.

Federico · 4th January 2005, 09:45 PM

Make sure the drying area is dust free, I can see speckles of dust in the finish. It appears, just a little thick, hence the high shine, but for the first time at it great job. You can try smoothing out the finish/dulling it with #0000 steel wool.

nechesh · 4th January 2005, 09:50 PM

That's a beautiful grain Rasdan. What made you paint it to begin with.

rasdan · 5th January 2005, 01:46 AM

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice Fred. I'm thinking of redoing the thing all over again, but i've tried more than a couple of time during last weekend, perhaps maybe next week.

Actually, painting (laquer actually) it black is just my experiment to see how much that the colour of the wood could change after the laquer had been cleared. It appeares that it does absorb some laquer but the color change is not quite significant.

DAHenkel · 5th January 2005, 10:20 AM

Hmm, very interesting Rasdan. Your sampir appears to be some other kind of wood rather than kemuning - possibly bongor but I'm not 100% sure. Its a very unusual grain for Kemuning but it would also be extremely rare to use bongor for a sampir. Its normally used for batangs but wood taken from the root area might be suitable for sampir. I shall have to show these pictures to Nik Dee to get his opinion.

4th January 2005, 03:02 AM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	W W! Love how the grain came out.

4th January 2005, 05:45 AM	#2
Montino Bourbon Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Santa Barbara, California Posts: 301	I do hope that you apply french polish and other types of finishing with adequate ventilation! I have a friend that had to stop using that method because he had heart problems from it. Of course he probably did more than you do, because he is a musical instrument tech, but it'd good to be very safe with materials that vaporize. By the way, the grain looks stunning! you did an excellent job. Remind me to ask you when I need that kind of work done!

4th January 2005, 06:10 AM	#3
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	Thanks guys. Actually i the wood itself has quite an impressive grain but is not enhanced before. Whoa, i dont know that this sort of thing can cause heart problems. Thanks for the advice Montino, and i will be happy to help anybody in restoration works. Thanks also to Dave for introducing french polish to me.

4th January 2005, 09:45 PM	#4
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Make sure the drying area is dust free, I can see speckles of dust in the finish. It appears, just a little thick, hence the high shine, but for the first time at it great job. You can try smoothing out the finish/dulling it with #0000 steel wool.

4th January 2005, 09:50 PM	#5
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	That's a beautiful grain Rasdan. What made you paint it to begin with.

5th January 2005, 01:46 AM	#6
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	Hi guys, Thanks for the advice Fred. I'm thinking of redoing the thing all over again, but i've tried more than a couple of time during last weekend, perhaps maybe next week. Actually, painting (laquer actually) it black is just my experiment to see how much that the colour of the wood could change after the laquer had been cleared. It appeares that it does absorb some laquer but the color change is not quite significant.

5th January 2005, 10:20 AM	#7
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Hmm, very interesting Rasdan. Your sampir appears to be some other kind of wood rather than kemuning - possibly bongor but I'm not 100% sure. Its a very unusual grain for Kemuning but it would also be extremely rare to use bongor for a sampir. Its normally used for batangs but wood taken from the root area might be suitable for sampir. I shall have to show these pictures to Nik Dee to get his opinion.