m 1902 sword

[william fisher]

afternoon all .. question about us m1902 sword picked up one few days ago cheap the blade is really nice the maker is ( colonial ) by n.s meyer inc. my question is the scabbard it still has plating on one side but the other side is rusted off once rust is removed what best to do ? paint all scabbard flat black or gloss black ? got to do something with it ? not leaving it half and half also sword was real hard pulling it out of the scabbard once out the sword was not bent or was the scabbard but at the bottom of the scabbard there was a small round hole almost a drain hole ? then tried to stick a thin wire in the hole and finally got thru more than half way up the scabbard now wondering if there is something stuck in there ? I do not believe the sword had wood pieces in there possibly just try and clean it out best I can ?thanks for any help you can give me bill .... p.s my other m1902 sword does no have a drain hole like some other swords do !

[Will Mathieson]

I would first lay the blade on the scabbard to see if the blade curvature is matched by the scabbard. If the scabbard does not match the curve then you have a mismatch. Curve of the blade should match with equal spacing on both sides of the scabbard. If it looks like you will get contact on the blade edges it's the wrong scabbard.
If it matches then determine if there is something blocking the blade from entering. A rifle cleaning rod with a 40 cal or so bronze brush can clean and remove debris from the scabbard.

[Richard Schenk]

Once you remove the rust from the scabbard, I would just oil it and leave it bright. Black paint would be completely out of place. All these swords had nickel plated scabbards - none had a black surface.

[william fisher]

thanks guys for help at the bottom of the scabbard there is that small hole that I managed to push a small wire through it also took of throat piece and there were 2 fiber like pieces on each side one was almost bent in half so then did try sword then did fit farther down into scabbard and will try your advice on the cleaning brushes again thank for the help bill

[william fisher]

thanks guys it worked !... put scabbard in vice, wide side up, tightened it up a little bit
till it felt harder to push sword in, then gently leaned into the scabbard till sword slide out nicely !! that was slick thanks a lot... bill

[T. Graham]

Once you remove the rust from the scabbard, I would just oil it and leave it bright. Black paint would be completely out of place. All these swords had nickel plated scabbards - none had a black surface.

Yes, there are M02s with black scabbards. They were made for cadet programs. The scabbards have a rough unplated finish so the paint can stick. I think this was to simulate a leather scabbard.

[william fisher]

thanks for the reply i did finish it up it fits real nice and the plating that was 1/2 gone i lightly sanded it smooth for rust removal and lightly oiled it and let the plated side as is a little polish on it thanks for your help ...bill

[T. Graham]

Oh, just to stick my nose in; Ames made black painted scabbards for some military schools and ROTC programs, notably Texas A & M. The scabbard throat, bands/rings and drag were left nickle. The finish was kept rough to allow the enamel paint to stick.

[william fisher]

thanks T Graham i could then paint my scabbard a rough flat black and leave the throat and etc nickle and have nice scabbard for A&M and that would get rid of the 1/2 rust and other 1/2 nickle.... thanks for the info ...bill

[Sean Scott]

thanks T Graham i could then paint my scabbard a rough flat black and leave the throat and etc nickle and have nice scabbard for A&M and that would get rid of the 1/2 rust and other 1/2 nickle.... thanks for the info ...bill

Texas A&M sabers have a distinctive etch.

[william fisher]

OH !! snap thanks for the info lol so much for that black scabbard ..bill thanks Sean