Minangkabau(?) keris

[A. G. Maisey]

No Ariel, no comments on the keris. I do not share the enthusiasm of others for keris from areas other than the areas of origin of the keris, as a consequence my knowledge of keris from these other areas is less than good. I do have opinions, but I learnt long ago that my opinions in respect of these keris only upset people, so I keep them to myself.

Re the use of pineapple juice & etc.

I started to clean and restore keris over 60 years ago, and at that time I was using methods described in 19th century books written by Europeans. These books talked about coconut water as the correct fluid to use.

Well, I couldn't get coconut water, so I thought about what other sort of natural juices I could use. I tried tomato juice, and apple juice and orange juice. I tried just about everything I could buy in can and everything I could squeeze out of a fruit.

I finally settled on pineapple juice as a cheap, easily obtainable juice that did an excellent job and did not harm the blade, no matter how long you left it in the juice.

As noted above , I stopped using pineapple juice when juice from fresh pineapples became unobtainable. This was caused by the sale of the Golden Circle company to the Heinz Group which did not waste any time in rationalising products and organisation to maximise returns. The Little Men in Grey Suits chalked up another victory. Incidentally, the new version of the juice is not only lousy to clean blades, it also tastes lousy.

But anyway, I used pineapple juice for a very long time, and I passed the recommendation for its use on to a lot of people. I guess other people also discovered its properties, independent of any advice from me.

However, about limes.

There is absolutely no substitute for freshly squeezed juice from Tahitian Limes mixed with warangan when it comes to staining a blade.

[ariel]

Tahitian lime juice, Beefeater gin, a touch of arsenic, shaken not stirred....

Sounds adventurous, doesn't it?

[Rafngard]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

However, about limes.

There is absolutely no substitute for freshly squeezed juice from Tahitian Limes mixed with warangan when it comes to staining a blade.

The internet is telling me that Tahitian lime is the same thing as Persian lime (perhaps the most commonly sold lime in the us). I am skeptical of this.
Am I right to be so?

Thanks,
Leif

[A. G. Maisey]

In Australia we call the limes that I use "Tahitian limes". At the moment I do not have a tree, but I did have a tree 20 years ago, the tree was sold to me as a Tahitian Lime, in the supermarkets fruit that was the same as on my tree was called "Tahitian Lime".

In Jawa limes that appear to be exactly the same as this are called jeruk nipis.

In appearance the fruit is round, about the same size as a large egg, very green. Taste is more acidic than a lemon.

I do not know what Persian limes are.

[A. G. Maisey]

Ariel, re Beefeater gin.

Bet you didn't know that many "pure fruit juice" products on the market are processed with an extract made from beef and with alcohol, did you?

Basically a lot of this stuff is not halal.

Before consumption check with the manufacturer if this is a concern to you.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Rafngard

The internet is telling me that Tahitian lime is the same thing as Persian lime (perhaps the most commonly sold lime in the us). I am skeptical of this.
Am I right to be so?

Hello Leif,

don't think that you need to be skeptical, a few days ago I've seen at tv a documentation, it will be Persian lime.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, I've tried stronger vinegar, here they label it as cleaning vinegar.

What I have found is that when the material of the blade is good, dense material, well compacted and with a relatively smooth surface, the stronger vinegar does give a faster result, however, when the material is of lesser quality and not smooth and compacted the stronger vinegar tends to leave the blade looking like a sponge.

The time taken to clean is immaterial to me. In the past , with pineapple juice I would sometimes take 2 weeks or moreto thoroughly clean a blade, and perhaps renew the juice several times during the process, especially in summer. I like the process to proceed slowly because it is easier to control.

The brushes I use are old tooth brushes, hard is better, but I usually use soft brushes, because that's what gets used in the house. I do not use metal brushes, and frankly I consider them unnecessary, because the vinegar --- or whatever is being used --- softens the corrosion to the point where all that is required is relatively gentle brushing to remove the loose residue of the rust.

Yes, I acknowledge that my process is slow, but it is very, very safe.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Jean, I've tried stronger vinegar, here they label it as cleaning vinegar.

What I have found is that when the material of the blade is good, dense material, well compacted and with a relatively smooth surface, the stronger vinegar does give a faster result, however, when the material is of lesser quality and not smooth and compacted the stronger vinegar tends to leave the blade looking like a sponge.

This is an example of "spongy" blade after acid cleaning as described by Alan. I used a regular household vinegar/ 10% citric acid mix for cleaning this blade but it was severely corroded, and this is the result! I should better have removed most of the rust mechanically and just polished & oiled it.
Regards

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Jean

This is an example of "spongy" blade after acid cleaning as described by Alan. I used a regular household vinegar/ 10% citric acid mix for cleaning this blade but it was severely corroded, and this is the result! I should better have removed most of the rust mechanically and just polished & oiled it.
Regards

Hello Jean,

I think you have done it in the correct way, the blade was just to much corroded. But you have removed all rust what's important. The other blade you have shown look fine.

Regards,
Detlef