Sword Care & Conservation

[Mark McMorrow]

Hi,

Thanks for the heads-up. Link repaired.

[Robert Wilkinson-Latham]

Ever wondered how the fitters at Wilkinsons got the grip wire so tightly bound on the grips????

They had a 'cunning' method as shown in the attached photograph.

The wire was fed into the small hole at the top of the grip and 'pegged' with a wood peg and then...........................
(Easy when you know how!

[stephen wood]

...pattern 1912 grips?

Is it possible to tighten them when they become loose (from shrinkage) without taking the hilt to pieces?

[Robert Wilkinson-Latham]

If one can find the 'end' of the wire wrapping at pommel or other end, one could tease out the wood plug,unwind and hand tighten the wire (you may have to cut a very small piece off the end where the wire has stretched) and using a matckstick cut to a point, reinsert the wire withplug and push down hard.

It may be an easy fix but Wilkinsons would have striped down the hilt.

Up to you but take care as the old wire can be fragile.

[John Hart]

If one can find the 'end' of the wire wrapping at pommel or other end, one could tease out the wood plug,unwind and hand tighten the wire (you may have to cut a very small piece off the end where the wire has stretched) and using a matckstick cut to a point, reinsert the wire withplug and push down hard.

It may be an easy fix but Wilkinsons would have striped down the hilt.

Up to you but take care as the old wire can be fragile.

I have a special pattern 11th Hussars sword with a similar grip to the P1912 which was missing its wire - I used a sliver of oak rather than a matchstick as a replacement peg as I was frightened the latter might be too soft - seemed to work OK though.

John

[Duffy St.Pierre]

Hi, Mr. Hopkins
My first post..
Think I have that same sword.. It is stamped Hawkinsworth Sheffield.. Can you tell me anything about it and its value..
Also have a few more too..
Thank You, Sir.

[Aristo C.]

Hi there!!

I got a sword and a sword bayonet (just starting collction)

They have some rusty bits, nothing bad tho.

I've heard that to take it out what is best is rubbit gently with a soft rag and some oil.

I thought about some cotton rag and motor oil, is this going to do the trick?

I also heard to that keeping the swords out of the scabbard is better to prevent them from rusting. True??

Thanks!

[Mark Cain]

Aristo, have a look at the first post in this thread. There you'll find a link to an article on conserving blades that will answer most of your questions.

[morgan butler]

I have a question as to how long one should leave on Renaissance De-corroder on a sword blade. This blade has some pretty good spots of corrosion that I would like to lessen the effects of. The bright light of this pic lessens the actual appearance of the staining. I have used it before but actually have never asked the fine people here how to maximize the effects and what they feel the limits are or the excesses. Thanks!

[Neil Anderson]

Does anyone have suggestions on cleaning and or maintaining gilded brass guards and pommels. Are there any compounds others have found to avoid. Does lightly oiling them do any short or long term harm.

[Harry Marinakis]

Has anyone ever tried Evapo-Rust for removing rust? I use it for everything (tools, anvils, maille, reproduction swords, etc.) and have obtained outstanding results. I am wondering how it works for antique sword conservation.

Recently someone asked me if I wanted a couple of old swords that they had in their attic. They didn't know anything about them, except that a family member had collected them in Europe during WWII. Both turned out to be Nazi ceremonial sabers. I don't normally collect historical swords, but these just fell into my possession.

They both need a little TLC before I put them into storage in my closet. My swords are stored individually in boxes, and the scabbards are stored separately in their own boxes. Periodically I pull them and make sure I do not have any rust issues, and then re-oil them before going back into storage.

The only two major problems with the swords that I see are:

(A) the last 2 inches of the tips of the scabbards are rusty (inactive rust?) and
(B) the red/black lanyard on the police sword knot has frayed almost completely through.

I am thinking about removing the knot lanyards from the guards and storing the lanyards straight. What were these lanyards made from in World War 2? They look plastic to me. (Maybe I have fake Nazi sabers?) Can or should I apply anything to these lanyards?

I was also thinking of soaking the last 3 inches of the scabbard in Evapo-Rust. Comments?

I am thinking of doing nothing more than lightly rubbing the hilt with a slightly oily cloth.

Any other tips for these particular swords? I read the article Conserving Antique Swords.

I have searched the Internet for information about these swords, not sure what information I can trust. If you have any other insight about these swords, please say something!

Left:Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co officer's dove head saber
Right: Alcoso police saber

[John Bailey]

Can anyone give me some advice about a scabbard? I recently bought a Piquet sword by Robert Mole from 1880. The sword I can work on but the scabbard is pretty well bare metal.

Would the scabbard have been plated or burnished?

I can get it re-plated but is it possible to remove the wooden liners? I heard of one case where a scabbard was replated with the wood left in which resulted in a corroded sword.

Any advice gratefully received.

John

[DanR]

Hi John,
PM sent.
Best,
Dan

[TheHerbert]

Hello folks,

New forum member.

I picked up what appears to be a WWI economy british officer infantry officer sword as apart of a two sword set this last week. No manufacturer marking, numbers, initials. There may be a retailer mark on it, I'll have to post some pics. The shark skin is in decent shape. The hand guard is loose, looks like the metal cover piece for the hilt is a plated brass replacement. I don't want to do anything with it until I confirm my economy sword assessment.

The leather/wood scabbard had utterly disintegrated. I was thinking of making a wood/leather scabbard for it as a fun project. I looked up some info and it doesn't look too difficult. Have any of you ever done this as a fun project, any advice?

[Paul Reid]

Is the "Conserving Antique Swords" link working?

[Mark McMorrow]

Is the "Conserving Antique Swords" link working?

sorry to say, no. We have a technical issue with the CMS that impacted the section our articles were featured on. Sorry about the inconvenience.

[Bill Prosser]

Does the Conserving antique swords link have a problem or just gone

[IMoran]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help. I have two swords with fish skin grips that have loss to the fish skin. On inspection they look like they are getting some 'whitening' around the edges of the fishskin. I have tried to take a picture showing the issue, does anyone know what it is is and how to arrest/reverse the issue!?

[Will Mathieson]

I find black shoe dye works well. Apply with a small artists brush, let dry and then pat with a paper towel to remove any excess that does not stay. This will also dye the wood where the loss is and make the grip look very presentable.

[morgan butler]

I have a lovely Napoleonic French Line-Officer sword with an heirloom blade on it. The wire on the grip has become unraveled and I would like a professional to do the re-wrap. Any recommendations? Tom Nardi is the only one I've heard of. Does any one have reviews of his work/customer service. Thanks!

[Will Mathieson]

I would recommend Tom. I have purchased items from him in the past that have worked well.

[Glen C.]

I know it is frustrating for many readers and visitors but one can read the conservation article via archive.org
https://web.archive.org/web/20140818...d-July-18-2001

The same is true for the front page, which is currently down. One has to fiddle around a bit but it is possible to find pages defunct for several years, including the old SFI Online Magazine sections and the Sword Forum International University links. Copy link addresses and then run through
https://archive.org/

Happy hunting

[Dickon Jayes]

Hi Everyone
We are the proud owners of an 1845 Pattern British Infantry Officer's Sword (bought from Wilkinson Sword in 1863).
It has certainly seen better days and has sustained some battle damage as well as a good deal of rust presumably as a result of neglect.
The question I have is how best should I preserve the blade?
I do not want to repolish it as I fear that will do more harm than good.
I want to stop the rust eating further into the blade and try to preserve the weapon as best I can.
No need to worry too much about the handle as it has sadly been replaced with a rather crude wooden handle at some point in its life. I can just keep that wood free of parasites and keep it oiled I suppose.
The blade? Should I just oil it or what?
Please note I am in South Africa and I have not found any antique sword restorers and I am VERY much an amateur with limited skill.
Oh and if relevant, the scabbard is no more :-(
Thanks in advance...
If it helps here are some pics:

[Will Mathieson]

The sword has been cleaned in the past, only the brown active rust should be removed. 0000 steel wool or a copper penny rubbed against the rust will work.
I agree do not polish the blade, it's amazing how quickly a etched detail can disappear as they are not deep now due to corrosion and cleanings.
Renaissance wax or any microcrystalline will work on the blade and hilt. Just apply with a soft cloth and gently rub it with same after.

[Dickon Jayes]

Thank you that is very helpful!