craftsman!

You may be right, maybe it's supposed to look a bit darker.

Top half with clear shoe polish, bottom half without. Definitely less discoloration.

 
Blue- beeswax darkens leather on it's own. It's what I use on sheaths for that very purpose (and to stiffen/preserve them, but I like the color). Gehazi-what type of sword? I wouldn't submerge anything old-an I have no idea what natural resin/adhesives ( Indo and Filipino stuff is held in with resins similar to laha, and Indian Talwar (!!!) are generally partial tangs set in resin inside the steel hilt) for some reason I remember reading that oil can make some natural resins go caddywumpus if they're saturated.
 
but small amounts for the blade which is then wiped off is fine right? I have submerged nothing, its why I asked, i want to give long life to my antique blades, make them a worthy collection-- you can clearly see the resin in the authentic ones though you are right, the knock offs have spot welds :D
 
Wiping it on shouldn't hurt anything at all. Camellia oil (sold in woodworking stores for japanese chisels, and what they use for Nihonto) is also very nice for blades-turns active oxidation black, is very fine, and smells wonderful. Also totally nontoxic.
 
hmmm i will need to order some of this, I have tons of cats, and dogs and other animals thus a need for non toxic oils, thanks a bunch jw
 
I suspect that will darken a little- all my shoepolish experience was spit polishing jungle boots...
 
I'm not expert but you take anything, like wood for example. Put a little water on it and it'll give you an idea what it will look like when it's oiled. You take a leather sheath and put a little water on it and it will darken instantly.

I'd experiment of course as I see what your wanting to accomplish but even clear shoe polish if it's doing anything to preserve or nourish is gonna darken. Some stuff might lighten back up better than others.

What do the leather guys around here put on leather that they want to keep natural looking, not dyed black or brown etc but natural?

Kind of fun trying to figure this out really. Good learning experience.
 
I'd love to know that too. What's good for light colored leather that won't darken it or make it harder/softer? I'm not trying to restore or rehydrate the leather, all I'm interested in is keeping it from getting any worse.

Also, it's only going to hang on the wall and collect dust, it doesn't need to endure any actual use or exposure to the elements. I don't foresee myself strapping this Kaskara scabbard on and wearing it about town.
 
some blade craftsman need to lay the science on me, how do I polish out scratches on steel? a buffing wheel and abrasive? or would this ruin antique swords? I noticed my blades shining strange in the pictures I took tonight, and I looked at them with a magnifying glass and its tiny scratches that shine, there must be a way to make this smooth again?

I always clean my blades with steel wool but I am pretty sure that should not scratch steel, I want them to look good but the petina must be maintained, so any advice is appreciated from the local blade smiths
 
Gehazi- I think it depends on the individual sword-a lot of older (especially tribal blades frow whatever culture) are constructed from a soft body with a little strip of hardenable steel for the edge (since edge quality steel was much more labor intensive) [incidentally I'm pretty sure this is why Filipino stuff that's old is chisel ground]. Some of the body steel can be really, really soft. Steel wool will definately scratch the softer stuff. And steel wool will eventually start to wear away the patina on anything. My older blades either get just the oily rag treatment, or cleaned completely and re-etched, depending on the blade, its value and/or rarity, and how messed up it is to begin with. Everything you've put up pics of, I would just oil, maybe scratch down active rust with a penny and oil to stop it from getting deeper, and enjoy them.
Incidentally, as to the original subject of this post- It wouldn't be too hard to make a wooden scabbard with panels of brass and bone inlaid into the front.
 
well if you are offering JW we can talk business in PM, I would love to hire it out rather than crudely throw it together myself , and thanks for advice, no more steel wool at all for swords, I made a mistake thinking the steel was the same as my khukuris which are all either british or HI, and very high quality steel. I am glad it was on my first blades rather than the ones I have my eyes on lol, I got these for a good price, can afford a mistake

also can you explain etching? the process you go through to clean an antique blade an etch? is this a service you offer?
 
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I tried etching a blade with a mix of PCB etching solution and water. All it did was turn the blade dark.
 
yeah I have heard it talked about in reference to antiques many times, just not sure about it
 
I use a ferric chloride/water solution. Radio shack pcb etchant now has some hydrochloric in it, which I have NO interest in dealing with (ferric is pretty safe.) dependin on solution strength, etch for a minute or two, clean it with dish soap and water, and either steel wool or buff the oxides off. If it just turns black all over, it's homogenous steel and through hardened. Hamon/hardening lines will show up, as will grain structure in forged non-laminated steels-this is heavily etched 1084 with a hardening line:image.jpg
Some laminated steels just don't do much, especially if it's the same carbon content all the way through (ie one piece of steel folded many times, rather than a sandwich of different alloys).
 
hmmm very cool, so its just kinda like super cleaning so you can see the grain of the steel? got my camellia oil today as well, is great stuff
 
It also shows you hardening lines if it's been differentially hardened.

Personally I wouldn't etch any antique blade unless it's supposed to be etched. I don't go any further than removing active rust and then leaving it be.
 
Gehazi- it definately doesn't clean. It's actually eating away steel, so you can ruin stuff with it if you forget.
I agree with Blue on all points- only if it's supposed to be etched, or it's a user.
 
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