Welcome aboard.
There is cleaning, restoration and abuse. Think of it as one might an old firearm. There is nothing wrong in starting with a soft cloth and light oil. Before that, I would take a coin and get the flaky stuff off the blade. Keep working with cloth and oil until it is no longer staining a fresh cloth. Or....
I am hesitant to share my own little shop of horrors
Red rust will only get rustier. I hate fine steel wool, as it leaves a mess but to cut a heavy crust, that and oil busts the crusts. Alternately, Decorroders, which is less than ideal but work. Will leave steel gray unless polished out. Electrolysis, works gangbusters, can be easily overdone. Scrubbies, brass and bronze wool. Low abrasive polishes, once down past the crud. I use a variety of them. Noxon, slathered on a crusty blade and left overnight softens up the crust (oxalic acid-all Decorroders us an acid.) White vinegar with salt, soak. Cleaned brass does not need to be polished and darkens with time if so desired.
The cross hatched grip is unusual. Mid/late 19th century is my best guess but I would not be surprised to find out it is early 20th century. The angled grip may reflect later Prussian military swords (1889ish) See 1889 degen. That said, Prussian states or Bavaria.
If you are on Facebook, check in at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iascpost/ and drop a post there. Another forum to post to is
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Both have more eyes and experience.
Here is one of my 'dry cleaning' results on brass, with just a worn out tooth brush. I would use a little lube even a water damp cloth while cleaning the grip.
A big difference in actually seeing the chasing of the details
There are a number of cleaning and restoration articles. Just stick to basics.
Another group
General discussion on modern reproductions of Renaissance and Post renaissance Military swords
sbg-sword-forum.forums.net
Cheers
GC
