Cleaning and polishing my bali-keris

David · 23rd January 2010, 04:19 PM

Might be your photography again, but frankly this material looks a lot more like some kind of composite material to me.

njo kesasar · 23rd January 2010, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Might be your photography again, but frankly this material looks a lot more like some kind of composite material to me.

Ignorent guy (me) David, how can I determine composite material?

Rick · 23rd January 2010, 06:36 PM

The red hot pin test .

Poke it somewhere it will not be noticed .

Go by the resulting smoke smell .

David · 23rd January 2010, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

The red hot pin test .

Poke it somewhere it will not be noticed .

Go by the resulting smoke smell .

Rick, he said he did the needle test in his first post, but i wasn't clear as to the result. This stuff looks very suspect to be though. It doesn't look like a natural material in many of the close-ups.

Rick · 23rd January 2010, 07:20 PM

Ah, I missed that David .

I see what may be a casting bubble in the third picture down in post 15; look at the crown, right hand side .

There seems to be a certain translucency to the material; the darker, more porous areas would indicate bone or horn .

A puzzler .

Njo, what did the hot pin test smell like ?

asomotif · 23rd January 2010, 11:15 PM

Hello Njo,

Interesting result after cleaning.
The surface looks crystaline in some places.
Especially the pictures from the bottom.

And indeed translucent in some areas.
Based on these pictures I would almost say that it is some kind of stone / marble like material.

Is it heavy ??

Ps. what did the hot pin test do ? Any smell of burned hair
If it is a sort of stone a hot pin would do nothing I guess.

Maybe you can finish the hilt with some dark antique wax an rub that out again. Tha will accentuate the carvings and relief again.
Although now cleaned the carvings look better than before cleaning

Best regards,
Willem

njo kesasar · 23rd January 2010, 11:54 PM

Rick David Asomotif
The burn test gives a wooden smell (did the test on the hilt as well on an Indonesian statue cut out of horn to compare, both with that result, so perhaps my nose is not that fine anymore

)
It´s heavy compared to his size
njo

23rd January 2010, 04:19 PM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	Might be your photography again, but frankly this material looks a lot more like some kind of composite material to me.

23rd January 2010, 06:36 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	The red hot pin test . Poke it somewhere it will not be noticed . Go by the resulting smoke smell .

23rd January 2010, 07:20 PM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Ah, I missed that David . I see what may be a casting bubble in the third picture down in post 15; look at the crown, right hand side . There seems to be a certain translucency to the material; the darker, more porous areas would indicate bone or horn . A puzzler . Njo, what did the hot pin test smell like ?

23rd January 2010, 11:15 PM	#6
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,228	Hello Njo, Interesting result after cleaning. The surface looks crystaline in some places. Especially the pictures from the bottom. And indeed translucent in some areas. Based on these pictures I would almost say that it is some kind of stone / marble like material. Is it heavy ?? Ps. what did the hot pin test do ? Any smell of burned hair If it is a sort of stone a hot pin would do nothing I guess. Maybe you can finish the hilt with some dark antique wax an rub that out again. Tha will accentuate the carvings and relief again. Although now cleaned the carvings look better than before cleaning Best regards, Willem

23rd January 2010, 11:54 PM	#7
njo kesasar Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 17	Rick David Asomotif The burn test gives a wooden smell (did the test on the hilt as well on an Indonesian statue cut out of horn to compare, both with that result, so perhaps my nose is not that fine anymore ) It´s heavy compared to his size njo