Does anyone know how to remove the black stain left on a sword after rust has been removed. I have a friend who's sword collection was damaged by salt water from hurrican Ivan in the Florida panhandle. He has tried to buff the sword and has removed the rust but the stain remains behind. The swords are 17th century Muslim with gold writing on the blades.
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Sword restoration
- Thread starter Kthomas
- Start date
I'll venture an answer.
Search for a local knifemaker who will be willing to take on a restoration project. Also have the swords appraised for value before doing any more work.
"Cleaning up" often devalues collector items even more than the actual damage.
Once you have an idea of what they are worth, and what it will cost to do appropriate remediation, you can then weigh any particular decision on the merits presented.
You might also want to bring this up in the collector's forum to get a more experienced view of the situation.
Search for a local knifemaker who will be willing to take on a restoration project. Also have the swords appraised for value before doing any more work.
"Cleaning up" often devalues collector items even more than the actual damage.
Once you have an idea of what they are worth, and what it will cost to do appropriate remediation, you can then weigh any particular decision on the merits presented.
You might also want to bring this up in the collector's forum to get a more experienced view of the situation.
Triton
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2000
- Messages
- 35,978
First I would skip the local knife maker part. I've seen what some local knifemakers do to swords. IF it comes down to doing restorative work you need to send those pieces to someone that actually knows swords. A sword is NOT just a big knife.
As has been noted correctly however "restoration" sometimes destroys any value an antique might have had. You need to get those things appraised before you do anything else. Right off hand I don't know who would be the best for that sort of thing, but were I you I would wander over to www.swordforum.com and go to their Middle Eastern swords forum and ask for expert appraiser recommendations there.
As has been noted correctly however "restoration" sometimes destroys any value an antique might have had. You need to get those things appraised before you do anything else. Right off hand I don't know who would be the best for that sort of thing, but were I you I would wander over to www.swordforum.com and go to their Middle Eastern swords forum and ask for expert appraiser recommendations there.
Cougar Allen
Buccaneer (ret.)
- Joined
- Oct 9, 1998
- Messages
- 75,847
Welcome to Bladeforums!
I'm with Triton and others on this one. On a valuable sword I'd have a restoration specialist do any work *or* at least have someone appraise it as to whether it warrants conservation.
A hack with metal polish or a wire brush might remove the stain but destroy the value of the piece to the point it can't be repaired. Especially if it has gold on the blade and is antique. You can't believe how many antiques have been utterly destroyed by well meaning folks trying to fix them. Japanese aficionados literally shudder to have anyone but someone skilled in appraisal and polishing ever remove metal or work on a blade and it should be no different for the blades you are describing.
It might be better left alone....
Brian
A hack with metal polish or a wire brush might remove the stain but destroy the value of the piece to the point it can't be repaired. Especially if it has gold on the blade and is antique. You can't believe how many antiques have been utterly destroyed by well meaning folks trying to fix them. Japanese aficionados literally shudder to have anyone but someone skilled in appraisal and polishing ever remove metal or work on a blade and it should be no different for the blades you are describing.
It might be better left alone....
Brian