New Keris - It Spoke to me and said Help - Now What??

A. G. Maisey · 16th July 2006, 11:43 PM

G`day Sabretasche.

Sorry I didn`t get here sooner, but been a bit tied up the last few days.

Handle removal from any keris is deadset easy. You`re going the right way by thinking heat, but your proposed method is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack peanuts.

What you need to do is to apply heat directly to the sorsoran---the wide area of the blade directly below the gonjo. You can use a candle, or a small kerosene lamp for this. Just play the flame over both sides of the sorsoran while you hold the blade with a few layers of cloth, and apply back and forth twisting pressure to the handle. You can clean all the soot off later with mineral turpentine.

If you are 100% familiar with the use of a propane torch, this is quicker, cleaner and easier. Put the torch in a vice, and play the flame over the sorsoran, but if you are not used to using propane, you can easily overheat the blade.So careful.

Truly, it is only a five minute job even if you use only a candle.

However, be warned:- once in a while the tang will be so rusted that it will break during the process. This is no real big deal, tangs are easy to repair, but it does destroy the originality of a blade. The argument is that if the tang was so rusted that it broke, it was going to break sooner or later anyway, and by breaking now it just allows the opportunity for restoration a little earlier, but its still not a nice feeling if you find it gives way under your hand and you`re left with half an inch of tang, or worse still, no tang at all.

I don`t like hairdryers to supply the heat, because they are too slow, and throw the heat around too much, especially up towards the handle.Any heat source will work for you, but what I have described is easy and fast.If you do strike a real stubborn one, what Kai suggests in heating and cooling cycles even over a few days, can be of assistance.

16th July 2006, 11:43 PM	#22
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	G`day Sabretasche. Sorry I didn`t get here sooner, but been a bit tied up the last few days. Handle removal from any keris is deadset easy. You`re going the right way by thinking heat, but your proposed method is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack peanuts. What you need to do is to apply heat directly to the sorsoran---the wide area of the blade directly below the gonjo. You can use a candle, or a small kerosene lamp for this. Just play the flame over both sides of the sorsoran while you hold the blade with a few layers of cloth, and apply back and forth twisting pressure to the handle. You can clean all the soot off later with mineral turpentine. If you are 100% familiar with the use of a propane torch, this is quicker, cleaner and easier. Put the torch in a vice, and play the flame over the sorsoran, but if you are not used to using propane, you can easily overheat the blade.So careful. Truly, it is only a five minute job even if you use only a candle. However, be warned:- once in a while the tang will be so rusted that it will break during the process. This is no real big deal, tangs are easy to repair, but it does destroy the originality of a blade. The argument is that if the tang was so rusted that it broke, it was going to break sooner or later anyway, and by breaking now it just allows the opportunity for restoration a little earlier, but its still not a nice feeling if you find it gives way under your hand and you`re left with half an inch of tang, or worse still, no tang at all. I don`t like hairdryers to supply the heat, because they are too slow, and throw the heat around too much, especially up towards the handle.Any heat source will work for you, but what I have described is easy and fast.If you do strike a real stubborn one, what Kai suggests in heating and cooling cycles even over a few days, can be of assistance.