keris tajong for comment..

zartane · 1st October 2007, 01:12 PM

hi to all, got my second tajong and i would like to open this thread for all your comment!! i would like to know about this keris. And why does the back of the hilt looks unfinished carving?? and how to get rid of the rust?? any advice?? thanks..

Henk · 1st October 2007, 06:07 PM

Nice keris.

To get rid of the rust you can soak the blade in lemon or pineapplejuice. Lemon juice is a bit more aggresive.

zartane · 25th October 2007, 08:20 AM

how many hours should i soak it with lemon juice??

David · 25th October 2007, 02:02 PM

Personally i would use pineapple juice over lemon. It is not as corrosive (acidic) as lemon so it will probably work slower, but there is already quite a bit of metal loss on this blade. Make sure the blade is completely submerged in the juice. How long? As long as it takes.

The blade does appear pretty rusty. You will also need to work the blade over regularly (maybe twice a day) with something like a hard toothbrush to help loosen and remove the rust. Be patient. Could take a week or more.

A. G. Maisey · 25th October 2007, 10:10 PM

Yeah, pineapple juice is more gentle than lemon. You can rely on it never doing any damage at all to a blade, even a very frail old blade. Lemon juice needs to be watched if you intend to soak.

For a blade in this condition it is likely that you'll need to work over it with something like a saddler's needle to pick the little hard bits of rust out of the pits. You can also spot really tough areas of rust with hydrochloric acid, but with this, you just paint it on and watch it while it works, then immediately rinse it off.

When its nice and clean, a good rub with steel wool and powder sink cleaner is good to finish with. In Jawa we use coconut husk and abu gosok, but sink cleaner and Ajax works just as well.

Its best to move straight to staining after the blade is clean. If you don't, it won't take long before you get light rust on the blade again.

If you fail to get rid of all the rust, when you come to staining you're going to get yellowish areas under the black.

BluErf · 27th October 2007, 03:22 AM

The back of the tajong looks fine to me. Not all the panels have to be carved. In fact, the earlier into history of the tajong hilt you go, the greater the proportion of uncarved panels on the hilt.

Uncarved panels have their beauty as well. Sometimes I find the late-period tajongs overly carved, and looked too "busy". Blank panels can enhance the appreciation of the form of the hilt.

1st October 2007, 01:12 PM	#1
zartane Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 38	keris tajong for comment.. hi to all, got my second tajong and i would like to open this thread for all your comment!! i would like to know about this keris. And why does the back of the hilt looks unfinished carving?? and how to get rid of the rust?? any advice?? thanks.. Attached Images

1st October 2007, 06:07 PM	#2
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Nice keris. To get rid of the rust you can soak the blade in lemon or pineapplejuice. Lemon juice is a bit more aggresive.

25th October 2007, 08:20 AM	#3
zartane Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 38	how many hours should i soak it with lemon juice??

25th October 2007, 02:02 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,024	Personally i would use pineapple juice over lemon. It is not as corrosive (acidic) as lemon so it will probably work slower, but there is already quite a bit of metal loss on this blade. Make sure the blade is completely submerged in the juice. How long? As long as it takes. The blade does appear pretty rusty. You will also need to work the blade over regularly (maybe twice a day) with something like a hard toothbrush to help loosen and remove the rust. Be patient. Could take a week or more.

25th October 2007, 10:10 PM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	Yeah, pineapple juice is more gentle than lemon. You can rely on it never doing any damage at all to a blade, even a very frail old blade. Lemon juice needs to be watched if you intend to soak. For a blade in this condition it is likely that you'll need to work over it with something like a saddler's needle to pick the little hard bits of rust out of the pits. You can also spot really tough areas of rust with hydrochloric acid, but with this, you just paint it on and watch it while it works, then immediately rinse it off. When its nice and clean, a good rub with steel wool and powder sink cleaner is good to finish with. In Jawa we use coconut husk and abu gosok, but sink cleaner and Ajax works just as well. Its best to move straight to staining after the blade is clean. If you don't, it won't take long before you get light rust on the blade again. If you fail to get rid of all the rust, when you come to staining you're going to get yellowish areas under the black.

27th October 2007, 03:22 AM	#6
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	The back of the tajong looks fine to me. Not all the panels have to be carved. In fact, the earlier into history of the tajong hilt you go, the greater the proportion of uncarved panels on the hilt. Uncarved panels have their beauty as well. Sometimes I find the late-period tajongs overly carved, and looked too "busy". Blank panels can enhance the appreciation of the form of the hilt.