touching up a blade with gun blue pen

David · 2nd March 2022, 05:41 PM

Well, that isn't anything that i would do personally. You say "I like it and it is what it is anyway". If that is the case you should leave it as is. I have never heard of coving up pamor because you don't like the look if the bright spot. So what you are asking seems very strange to me.
I cannot tell much about this blade from this close up. Can you provide a photo of the entire blade?

milandro · 2nd March 2022, 06:12 PM

I was asking a strictly metallurgical question limited to the use of gun blue, as I stated in post 1
never mind, thanks

David · 2nd March 2022, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milandro

I was asking a strictly metallurgical question limited to the use of gun blue, as I stated in post 1
never mind, thanks

Well Milandro, we are a forum of keris collectors, not metallurgists. You can't expect to ask a question like this without some head scratching on our part.

A. G. Maisey · 2nd March 2022, 11:03 PM

Purely metallurgical?

OK.

I own & use a number of firearms, and have owned rifles for seventy odd years and during that course of time I have needed to touch up firearm bluing more times than I can remember.

In my experience cold blue, I normally use Birchwood Casey, will only act on ferric material, it will not darken nickel plating, thus I do not believe it will darken pure nickel on a keris blade.

However, an artist friend tells me that nitric acid @ 50% dilution will darken nickel, you need to get the nickel a bit warm, +/-50C, soak the nickel for up to 30 seconds. She is an artist, and she does SOAK the material in the dilute nitric acid, not paint it on.

Frankly I would not touch nitric acid with a 40 foot pole, it is very nasty stuff, and my belief is that it would be impossible to isolate the effect of the acid so that it only touched the nickel in the blade leaving the ferric material untouched. I think the fumes alone would be sufficient to adversely affect the rest of the blade finish.

To be clear:- I am not recommending the use of nitric acid for anything, least of all to attempt to alter the appearance of this blade under discussion.

milandro · 2nd March 2022, 11:17 PM

thank you for your, to my point, answer, after looking at several videos on Youtube , and reading this, I’ve decided against it.

A. G. Maisey · 3rd March 2022, 12:04 AM

Very wise I think.

milandro · 4th March 2022, 06:11 PM

while I thank you again for your to-the-point answer ( and by the way , methinks that there are plenty of metallurgic points made in several threads that I’ve read, as for example about on how to etch blades ) I have learned to appreciate and perhaps even love this blade.

I like the way the light catches and reflects on this spot, it goes from light to deep dark, as you move the kris creating a very vivid effect.

Intended or not it lives now, and it lives with me. I have abandoned any retouching desire.

there is , of course, no account for taste and I have no doubt that people will disagree

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

2nd March 2022, 05:41 PM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,250	Well, that isn't anything that i would do personally. You say "I like it and it is what it is anyway". If that is the case you should leave it as is. I have never heard of coving up pamor because you don't like the look if the bright spot. So what you are asking seems very strange to me. I cannot tell much about this blade from this close up. Can you provide a photo of the entire blade?

2nd March 2022, 06:12 PM	#2
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 498	I was asking a strictly metallurgical question limited to the use of gun blue, as I stated in post 1 never mind, thanks

2nd March 2022, 11:03 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Purely metallurgical? OK. I own & use a number of firearms, and have owned rifles for seventy odd years and during that course of time I have needed to touch up firearm bluing more times than I can remember. In my experience cold blue, I normally use Birchwood Casey, will only act on ferric material, it will not darken nickel plating, thus I do not believe it will darken pure nickel on a keris blade. However, an artist friend tells me that nitric acid @ 50% dilution will darken nickel, you need to get the nickel a bit warm, +/-50C, soak the nickel for up to 30 seconds. She is an artist, and she does SOAK the material in the dilute nitric acid, not paint it on. Frankly I would not touch nitric acid with a 40 foot pole, it is very nasty stuff, and my belief is that it would be impossible to isolate the effect of the acid so that it only touched the nickel in the blade leaving the ferric material untouched. I think the fumes alone would be sufficient to adversely affect the rest of the blade finish. To be clear:- I am not recommending the use of nitric acid for anything, least of all to attempt to alter the appearance of this blade under discussion.

2nd March 2022, 11:17 PM	#5
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 498	thank you for your, to my point, answer, after looking at several videos on Youtube , and reading this, I’ve decided against it.

3rd March 2022, 12:04 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Very wise I think.

4th March 2022, 06:11 PM	#7
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 498	while I thank you again for your to-the-point answer ( and by the way , methinks that there are plenty of metallurgic points made in several threads that I’ve read, as for example about on how to etch blades ) I have learned to appreciate and perhaps even love this blade. I like the way the light catches and reflects on this spot, it goes from light to deep dark, as you move the kris creating a very vivid effect. Intended or not it lives now, and it lives with me. I have abandoned any retouching desire. there is , of course, no account for taste and I have no doubt that people will disagree