Repair/resto question

[Bob A]

Thanks, Alan.

I'm assuming you're referring to the damar/wax/brick dust mixture as jabung? I'm ordering some damar, and I'll experiment with proportions once it gets here.

Sounds rather like fun, actually, and I certainly appreciate the details in your post. Life becomes much smoother when following the tracks of those gone before.

[mross]

I have used this to good effect;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Birch-Bark-...72.m2749.l2649

[A. G. Maisey]

I like the sound of that Birch stuff.

Yes, Bob, in Jawa we call this mix jabung, it is pretty much the standard adhesive for all handles that are intended to stay put, The damar we use is called "damar selo" = "rock damar" and it needs to be melted in a pot over fire, it is very highly inflammable and the gas it gives off takes your breath away. It will stick to your skin if still liquid, and you can burnt severely by it, so when using it you stir the liquid jabung with a stick until it doesn't drip off, then you can handle it like putty with your bare hands. You need to work very quickly.

Of course, these days most people in Jawa use a modern adhesive like one of the super glues or one of the two part epoxy resins, and they colour these with iron filings as required.

In fact, it has been standard practice in Jawa to use two part epoxy resin between the blade and the gonjo of old keris, where this gap has opened up, since this adhesive appeared on the market there, more than 50 years ago. The reason for its use is to assist preservation:- if the gap between blade & gonjo is sealed it helps to prevent further deterioration.

[Bob A]

Yeah, the birch stuff is interesting. Apparently currently unavailable.

Thanks for the clarification, Alan. I'm sort of shocked that epoxy would be used; it seems to me that reversibility is compromised, but I am far from certain on that score.

Seems to be lots of variation regarding damar. The benzoin incense melts and enters a gaseous state pretty rapidly if I recall correctly; smells nice, but then we used a few crumbs on a charcoal cake, with the vapor being the objective of the exercise. I'm planning to get some black damar from India, we'll see how that works. I also ordered a couple sticks of black sealing wax. I'll probably make little batches of each suggested compound before trying a repair, just to see how each one turns out.

[A. G. Maisey]

Yeah Bob, most people are shocked to learn that people in places once considered the "Ends of the Earth" moved into the same practices as people in other places, a long time ago.

Thing is this:- for concerned Javanese, the important thing is to conserve their heritage, and modern methods and materials do that far better than the old ways. The climate there is terrible, the humidity during the wet season seeps into cameras and causes corrosion. Its not really hot, usually only low to mid thirties Celsius, but the humidity is sufficient to cause you to sweat if you even think about work.

Epoxy resins do a pretty much permanent job on wood, once you use epoxy on wood its there forever, you want to remove it, you need to remove a thin layer of the original material along with the epoxy, but on metal, especially ferric material, its easy to get off, Araldite softens and peels at +/-200C, it dissolves with acetone.

[ariel]

Birch tar as chewing gum is a sure prescription for mouth cancer.
Vishnevsky’s ointment was widely used by Russian docs during WWII, because they had nothing else, but it is no longer in use even in Russia after ~ 80s-90s: bad irritation of the granular tissue with exaggerated scar formation and potential development of skin cancer after long term use. It had no antibacterial effect: to get it, Dr. V. recommended adding streptocid , a sulfa antibacterial. Scientifically, it did not differ much from the old Cossack recipe: a mix of gunpowder, earth and spider webs, chewed up and applied to the wound. My guess that more Cossacks died from tetanus than from their wounds since soil is chock full of Clostridium tetani. Add to it oral flora from saliva, and gangrene is highly likely.

[ariel]

Several times I had to fix wobbly Tulwar handles. Went into great lengths to acquire old sealing wax ( new ones are made not on the base of shellac, but are purely synthetic), melt it, crush a piece of old brick, put the mixture into the opening.... Did not dare using epoxy: too modern.

And here Alan nonchalantly mentions the cursed substance as a godsent answer to my prayers and just tells me that all my museum-grade efforts were for naught!

Seriously, folks, do you think that using epoxy for restoring old weapons is ethical? Please say yes, take a weight off my shoulders?

[mross]

Originally Posted by Bob A

Yeah, the birch stuff is interesting. Apparently currently unavailable.

Thanks for the clarification, Alan. I'm sort of shocked that epoxy would be used; it seems to me that reversibility is compromised, but I am far from certain on that score.

Seems to be lots of variation regarding damar. The benzoin incense melts and enters a gaseous state pretty rapidly if I recall correctly; smells nice, but then we used a few crumbs on a charcoal cake, with the vapor being the objective of the exercise. I'm planning to get some black damar from India, we'll see how that works. I also ordered a couple sticks of black sealing wax. I'll probably make little batches of each suggested compound before trying a repair, just to see how each one turns out.

Contact the seller if your interested. He makes the tar himself from sustainable locally sourced bark. I used it to stabilize a loose blade in a kora.

To answer one of the other question, no I would not use epoxy. It is not easily removed and can breakdown/ loosen up. The tar just need to have a heat gun applied and replaced.