Kentucky Show Barung

Spunjer · 22nd February 2016, 12:15 AM

picked up this barung at the show yesterday. at first glance, it looks like a typical piece, but i liked it because the scabbard appears to be original with the blade.
got home and started cleaning the blade since it was covered with grime. as it started to get cleaned up, i noticed a crack in the middle of the blade, which immediately reminded me of a twistcore kris. at this point, i still can't see any lamination patterns so i figure i might as well etch it. after etching it, i noticed the pattern was quite unusual, in that it was creating a chevron pattern. then it hit me. they do exist...

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...5&postcount=18

i stand corrected

kai · 22nd February 2016, 12:31 AM

Hello Ron,

Quote:

i noticed a crack in the middle of the blade, which immediately reminded me of a twistcore kris. at this point, i still can't see any lamination patterns so i figure i might as well etch it. after etching it, i noticed the pattern was quite unusual, in that it was creating a chevron pattern. then it hit me. they do exist...

Congrats, that's a neat and important find!

Did you etch with ferric chloride? Or vinegar only? It would be great to get the contrast as bold as possible to document the pattern in detail. Easy to reduce the contrast after a foto session if deemed too heavy.

It does seem that the smith was working at his limits though - really tough to keep the pattern reasonably intact when spreading out the forging that much! I do wonder why we haven't seen examples with several rows of twistcore as found with the other (and more slender) Moro blades.

Regards,
Kai

Spunjer · 22nd February 2016, 01:19 AM

strictly vinegar, Kai. as for the pattern itself, i don't think i can get it better than that. just to know that it's twistcore is good enough, lol. personally, i don't like when the FeCl is used as an etching agent since it gives that burnt look...

and to think i passed by this particular piece and just looked at it countless times for a couple of days before finally pulling the trigger.

additional pics. these were taken while i was in the process of etching it

CCUAL · 22nd February 2016, 03:59 AM

blade is 21" long, 2 1/2" wide, 1/2" thick.

DaveS · 22nd February 2016, 04:27 AM

Ron: Great Find. Yes, it always feels good when you run across something totally unexpected like this barong. I felt the same way when i decided to clean up and etch a campilon that i had for years only to discover that it was a twist-core. This barong does seem to have a somewhat strange twist-core though. It looks more like a star pattern than a twist as we are all more familiar with, although i'm sure seeing the blade in person it probably is much easier to see the pattern. Anyway, i knew there had to be one out there, and if there is one there has to be more. Congrats..........Dave.

Spunjer · 22nd February 2016, 11:21 AM

Thank you, Dave.
i believe Gavin has one as well. would be interested to see the pattern on his barung.
yeah, i'm surprised that there's not more out there, given that there's relatively a lot of twistcore krises that came from sulu...

Battara · 22nd February 2016, 02:59 PM

Folks I saw this at the show and it is truly an older piece. And then to get a twist core - SCORE!

kai · 22nd February 2016, 11:52 PM

Hello Dave,

Quote:

This barong does seem to have a somewhat strange twist-core though. It looks more like a star pattern than a twist as we are all more familiar with,

The appearance of twist core is heavily dependant on the exposure of the "core" - in addition, the blade smith seems to have opted for spreading out the pamor very much while forging the blade. This is quite unexpected since the usual Moro approach was to add additional rows of twist core to "fill empty space" as seen in tabas and kampilan (as well as the base of larger kris).

Regards,
Kai

kai · 22nd February 2016, 11:39 PM

Hello Ron,

Quote:

strictly vinegar, Kai. as for the pattern itself, i don't think i can get it better than that. just to know that it's twistcore is good enough, lol. personally, i don't like when the FeCl is used as an etching agent since it gives that burnt look...

I fully agree on the aesthetics and prefer vinegar myself. However, ferric chloride gives a stronger contrast and often more crisp lines for documentation/analysis: just go for a quick etch, take pics, and wash several times in diluted vinegar; after a quick repolish, hot vinegar gives the preferred final etch for storage.

There seem to be a few remaining patches of stubborn rust which I'd tackle first for safe long-term storage.

Regards,
Kai

Spunjer · 22nd February 2016, 11:54 PM

alright Kai, you win, lol..
kinda interested to see how it looks full-blown myself, so here it is etched with FeCl

kai · 23rd February 2016, 12:27 AM

Thanks, Ron, that was extremely fast!

Let me try to digest the pattern for a while...

I stand by my earlier comment that it seems the smith was working at his limits here. Certainly way better than what I could hope to achieve on a traditional forge though! Even trying to reproduce this pattern with plasticiline/FIMO will be a challenge.

Regards,
Kai

22nd February 2016, 12:15 AM	#1
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Kentucky Show Barung picked up this barung at the show yesterday. at first glance, it looks like a typical piece, but i liked it because the scabbard appears to be original with the blade. got home and started cleaning the blade since it was covered with grime. as it started to get cleaned up, i noticed a crack in the middle of the blade, which immediately reminded me of a twistcore kris. at this point, i still can't see any lamination patterns so i figure i might as well etch it. after etching it, i noticed the pattern was quite unusual, in that it was creating a chevron pattern. then it hit me. they do exist... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...5&postcount=18 i stand corrected Attached Images

22nd February 2016, 01:19 AM	#3
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	strictly vinegar, Kai. as for the pattern itself, i don't think i can get it better than that. just to know that it's twistcore is good enough, lol. personally, i don't like when the FeCl is used as an etching agent since it gives that burnt look... and to think i passed by this particular piece and just looked at it countless times for a couple of days before finally pulling the trigger. additional pics. these were taken while i was in the process of etching it Attached Images

22nd February 2016, 03:59 AM	#4
CCUAL Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 76	Yes, they do exist. blade is 21" long, 2 1/2" wide, 1/2" thick. Attached Images

22nd February 2016, 04:27 AM	#5
DaveS Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 327	Kentucky Show Barung Ron: Great Find. Yes, it always feels good when you run across something totally unexpected like this barong. I felt the same way when i decided to clean up and etch a campilon that i had for years only to discover that it was a twist-core. This barong does seem to have a somewhat strange twist-core though. It looks more like a star pattern than a twist as we are all more familiar with, although i'm sure seeing the blade in person it probably is much easier to see the pattern. Anyway, i knew there had to be one out there, and if there is one there has to be more. Congrats..........Dave.

22nd February 2016, 11:54 PM	#10
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	alright Kai, you win, lol.. kinda interested to see how it looks full-blown myself, so here it is etched with FeCl Attached Images

22nd February 2016, 11:21 AM	#6
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Thank you, Dave. i believe Gavin has one as well. would be interested to see the pattern on his barung. yeah, i'm surprised that there's not more out there, given that there's relatively a lot of twistcore krises that came from sulu...

22nd February 2016, 02:59 PM	#7
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	Folks I saw this at the show and it is truly an older piece. And then to get a twist core - SCORE!

23rd February 2016, 12:27 AM	#11
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,221	Thanks, Ron, that was extremely fast! Let me try to digest the pattern for a while... I stand by my earlier comment that it seems the smith was working at his limits here. Certainly way better than what I could hope to achieve on a traditional forge though! Even trying to reproduce this pattern with plasticiline/FIMO will be a challenge. Regards, Kai