Grandpa's Keris

A. G. Maisey · 20th January 2007, 08:53 PM

Henk, let's settle one thing first:-

I am not a master.

I might know a little bit about keris, and some of the things connected to keris.

In the field of keris I do not believe anybody can lay claim to being a "master".

Those of us who have devoted considerable time to the study of keris seem to have gathered information about different aspects of the keris, from different quarters. None of us have it all : we all have a little bit.

To clean a blade I have found tinned pineapple juice to be the best agent by far. I've tried a few different things, but only with pineapple juice can I leave a frail old blade in the juice for 2 or 3 weeks, and know that it will do absolutely no damage to the metal.

In my experience the only satisfactory fruit juice to use with the arsenic for staining is Tahitian lime juice. The full process that I use is available through the link that David provided. Scroll down until you come to a post by Wong Desa.

I probably should add this:- the method I have given is only one of many, but it is the one that I think will give an inexperienced person the most reliable result. There is one method that will give a far better result than any other method, however I am not prepared to publish this method because it is potentially very dangerous, and in the absence of hands on personal instruction there is a very high probability of misunderstanding on how it is done.

Henk · 21st January 2007, 08:51 AM

Allan,

Don't take the phrase "Let the master speak" too serious. Here in Holland, and that's the difference between languages and the use of it, that we discussed before, it means: Let the one who has more knowledge about the subject tell us about it.
After all we are all students on this forum, but no one can deny that you have a great knowledge that we all enjoy. And there are certainly more members with great knowledge.
I do agree with you that the study of keris is a study for lifetime and even then how many information one has gathered, one still don't know everything.
I thought the expression was original chinese: "Who knows so much, find out that he knows so little."
I suppose we have settled this now.

I don't have the intention at the moment to stain keris blades. The arsenic stuff is too dangerous for me and as said, a job for the experts , a knowlede I like to use with great gratitude. Besides that I didn't even mention buying the stuff here in Holland. But it is a very intriging subject, that is an indissolubly part of the keris.

A. G. Maisey · 21st January 2007, 08:49 PM

I actually thought your "master" remark might have been light-hearted fun, but although it would come across OK in conversation, in print, and across many cultures, if I accepted your remark without denying it, I could be seen as the one of the greatest egotists who ever sucked air.

It is probably true of many fields of knowledge, and it is certainly true of the keris, that the more you learn, the more you realise how little you know.

Arsenic used to stain keris dangerous?

Yep. About as dangerous as a .44 magnum.

But neither will do you any harm at all if handled as they should be.

20th January 2007, 08:53 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Henk, let's settle one thing first:- I am not a master. I might know a little bit about keris, and some of the things connected to keris. In the field of keris I do not believe anybody can lay claim to being a "master". Those of us who have devoted considerable time to the study of keris seem to have gathered information about different aspects of the keris, from different quarters. None of us have it all : we all have a little bit. To clean a blade I have found tinned pineapple juice to be the best agent by far. I've tried a few different things, but only with pineapple juice can I leave a frail old blade in the juice for 2 or 3 weeks, and know that it will do absolutely no damage to the metal. In my experience the only satisfactory fruit juice to use with the arsenic for staining is Tahitian lime juice. The full process that I use is available through the link that David provided. Scroll down until you come to a post by Wong Desa. I probably should add this:- the method I have given is only one of many, but it is the one that I think will give an inexperienced person the most reliable result. There is one method that will give a far better result than any other method, however I am not prepared to publish this method because it is potentially very dangerous, and in the absence of hands on personal instruction there is a very high probability of misunderstanding on how it is done.

21st January 2007, 08:51 AM	#2
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Allan, Don't take the phrase "Let the master speak" too serious. Here in Holland, and that's the difference between languages and the use of it, that we discussed before, it means: Let the one who has more knowledge about the subject tell us about it. After all we are all students on this forum, but no one can deny that you have a great knowledge that we all enjoy. And there are certainly more members with great knowledge. I do agree with you that the study of keris is a study for lifetime and even then how many information one has gathered, one still don't know everything. I thought the expression was original chinese: "Who knows so much, find out that he knows so little." I suppose we have settled this now. I don't have the intention at the moment to stain keris blades. The arsenic stuff is too dangerous for me and as said, a job for the experts , a knowlede I like to use with great gratitude. Besides that I didn't even mention buying the stuff here in Holland. But it is a very intriging subject, that is an indissolubly part of the keris.

21st January 2007, 08:49 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	I actually thought your "master" remark might have been light-hearted fun, but although it would come across OK in conversation, in print, and across many cultures, if I accepted your remark without denying it, I could be seen as the one of the greatest egotists who ever sucked air. It is probably true of many fields of knowledge, and it is certainly true of the keris, that the more you learn, the more you realise how little you know. Arsenic used to stain keris dangerous? Yep. About as dangerous as a .44 magnum. But neither will do you any harm at all if handled as they should be.