Arsenic or realgar for Keris etching?

David · 15th August 2009, 03:27 PM

I do not have anywhere near the staining experience that Alan has, but i must report that i have never had a corrosive effect from staining with arsenic trioxide. I do not have any experience with warangan to compare with, but no corrosive effect is still no corrosive effect and does not need comparison to be a true statement.
I also am not sure why Ganja provided these links to arsenic trioxide warnings either. You will notice that these are basically warnings about ingestion. Again, i would recommend that it is just plain common sense that you not lick your fingers when working with this stuff, do it in a safe environment and clean up well when you are finished. Warangan would be similarly poisonous if ingested so the same warnings would stand for it as well.
Ganja, i believe Alan's remark about "yarns and second hand stories" was not aimed specifically at you. Such second hand advice has been sprinkled throughout this thread and frankly i have found some of it to be questionable info. So far Alan is the only person who has posted information on this thread who has had a vast amount of consistent first-hand staining experience with both lab arsenic and realgar. This experience spans the past 50 years! I am personally willing to hear the advice of others with such experience. But i am more likely to give credence to the first-hand informant with vast knowledge of the process than i am to believe second-hand info for informants i have no personal connection with.

15th August 2009, 03:27 PM	#11
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	I do not have anywhere near the staining experience that Alan has, but i must report that i have never had a corrosive effect from staining with arsenic trioxide. I do not have any experience with warangan to compare with, but no corrosive effect is still no corrosive effect and does not need comparison to be a true statement. I also am not sure why Ganja provided these links to arsenic trioxide warnings either. You will notice that these are basically warnings about ingestion. Again, i would recommend that it is just plain common sense that you not lick your fingers when working with this stuff, do it in a safe environment and clean up well when you are finished. Warangan would be similarly poisonous if ingested so the same warnings would stand for it as well. Ganja, i believe Alan's remark about "yarns and second hand stories" was not aimed specifically at you. Such second hand advice has been sprinkled throughout this thread and frankly i have found some of it to be questionable info. So far Alan is the only person who has posted information on this thread who has had a vast amount of consistent first-hand staining experience with both lab arsenic and realgar. This experience spans the past 50 years! I am personally willing to hear the advice of others with such experience. But i am more likely to give credence to the first-hand informant with vast knowledge of the process than i am to believe second-hand info for informants i have no personal connection with.