Tombak Opinions Wanted

Tim Simmons · 14th May 2006, 10:09 AM

Fascinating, can you etch with the more gentle fruit acids? I might be tempted to experiment on some tourist junk I have. Then who knows what next

I might even risk this as I got it very cheaply, if you could see it in the raw, you would see that the blade is full of pattern lines or what you call, pamor?

A. G. Maisey · 14th May 2006, 11:27 AM

Let me differentiate between "etch", and "stain".

If we etch something, we bring up the topographic relief that is revealed when the acid eats away the softer metal.

If we stain, we apply a substance that will reveal the colours of the differing materials in a blade.

Before attempting to stain a blade we must clean it of rust and dirt. A gentle fruit acid such as pineapple juice is a very effective cleaner, and will also very lightly etch.

When we look at an old blade we can sometimes see lines in the blade that look as if they may be pamor, however, with many old blades we are not seeing pamor, we are simply seeing the weld joints caused by the folding process used in cleaning the material before it was forged into a blade. You can sometimes see these weld joints in old European pieces too.

Sometimes with an older piece of wesi aji, a soak in pineapple juice will not only clean the blade, but will also reactivate the latent arsenic from previous applications, and you can get a half-way acceptable blade finish by the use of the pineapple juice alone. You may find that this could be the case with the tombak you have shown.

Henk · 14th May 2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

Fascinating, can you etch with the more gentle fruit acids? I might be tempted to experiment on some tourist junk I have. Then who knows what next

I might even risk this as I got it very cheaply, if you could see it in the raw, you would see that the blade is full of pattern lines or what you call, pamor?

Tim,

Looks to me as a nice tombak and certainly not a tourist piece. Does it have a scabbard?

Of course you can clean it with more gentle fruit acids. Pineapple juice and coconut milk are frequently used to clean the blade. The pattern lines you see are the lines from the forging of the metal. The pamor is the contrast of the nickle and the iron made visible by the warangan. It depends how the nickle is twisted with the iron and how many times, but you would be surprised of the pamor patern coming up after treatment with the warangan. That the blade is full of pattern lines indicates that your tombak has pamor.

14th May 2006, 10:09 AM	#1
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	Fascinating, can you etch with the more gentle fruit acids? I might be tempted to experiment on some tourist junk I have. Then who knows what next I might even risk this as I got it very cheaply, if you could see it in the raw, you would see that the blade is full of pattern lines or what you call, pamor? Attached Images Last edited by Tim Simmons; 14th May 2006 at 10:21 AM.

14th May 2006, 11:27 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Let me differentiate between "etch", and "stain". If we etch something, we bring up the topographic relief that is revealed when the acid eats away the softer metal. If we stain, we apply a substance that will reveal the colours of the differing materials in a blade. Before attempting to stain a blade we must clean it of rust and dirt. A gentle fruit acid such as pineapple juice is a very effective cleaner, and will also very lightly etch. When we look at an old blade we can sometimes see lines in the blade that look as if they may be pamor, however, with many old blades we are not seeing pamor, we are simply seeing the weld joints caused by the folding process used in cleaning the material before it was forged into a blade. You can sometimes see these weld joints in old European pieces too. Sometimes with an older piece of wesi aji, a soak in pineapple juice will not only clean the blade, but will also reactivate the latent arsenic from previous applications, and you can get a half-way acceptable blade finish by the use of the pineapple juice alone. You may find that this could be the case with the tombak you have shown.