Meteoric iron used for keris's vs. for Indian weapons

[BSMStar]

Originally Posted by tom hyle

Actually though we may have forgotten, I think it is very easy for anyone not familiar with either to confuse or conflate the two; the primary visual difference is contiunual curved layers vs. patchy small layers; not a very big difference to the many people who are not much used to thinking about material structures....

As long as we keep in mind, there isn't any black color in the Widmanstatten pattern. The affect is cause by the different speeds the acid "eats" it's way through the nickel-iron structure... where in pamor, it is a blackening affect by depositing sulfur on the iron, changing the color of the iron surface.

BSMStar

[tom hyle]

Actually pamor is etched by acid in exactly the same manner, and (commonly) also stained. The staining is a subtlety understood only by natives and afficionadi; ordinary "westerners" do not understand there to be a difference between pamor and any other folded steel, if they know anything about it at all.....listen, I encounter sellers on ebay who cannot give me measurements in coherent units, or who don't know the difference between width and thickness; believe me; it's easy for the ignorant to conflate things.

[okhba3]

BSMStar,
the book that I quoted is: "Pamor Keris", by Bambang Harsrinuksmo, C.V. Agung Lestari, Jakarta, 1995 (4th edition). Unfortunately it is an Indonesian language book. It is not a new research though, since the 1st edition of the book is February 1985. And there are no specific data in the book about the content of Titanium and other metal component for Prambanan meteorite, but it specifically said that there is no Nickel in that pamor material. The research was done by Haryono Arumbinang Msc, and his friends in BATAN (Indonesian atomic research body) in Yogyakarta. I will try to look at other sources though and see if I can be get more information about this research.

[BSMStar]

Originally Posted by okhba3

BSMStar,
the book that I quoted is: "Pamor Keris", by Bambang Harsrinuksmo, C.V. Agung Lestari, Jakarta, 1995 (4th edition). Unfortunately it is an Indonesian language book. It is not a new research though, since the 1st edition of the book is February 1985. And there are no specific data in the book about the content of Titanium and other metal component for Prambanan meteorite, but it specifically said that there is no Nickel in that pamor material. The research was done by Haryono Arumbinang Msc, and his friends in BATAN (Indonesian atomic research body) in Yogyakarta. I will try to look at other sources though and see if I can be get more information about this research.

Hi okhba3,

Thank you for your help.

BSMStar

[BSMStar]

Originally Posted by tom hyle

Actually pamor is etched by acid in exactly the same manner, and (commonly) also stained. The staining is a subtlety understood only by natives and afficionadi; ordinary "westerners" do not understand there to be a difference between pamor and any other folded steel, if they know anything about it at all.....listen, I encounter sellers on ebay who cannot give me measurements in coherent units, or who don't know the difference between width and thickness; believe me; it's easy for the ignorant to conflate things.

Hi Tom,

I just want to be sure I am not misunderstood... unlike pamor, the Widmanstatten pattern has no staining to the surface as does pamor. That is the difference I am referring to.

BSMStar