Sword Care and Maintenance from Medieval Collectables

Now that you have your new sword or are thinking of buying one from Medieval Collectables, let’s make sure you take good care of it! In many ways our swords are superior to the originals, they require responsible use, care, and maintenance.

Maintenance:
All metal parts of your sword, including the wire wrapped handles, should always be covered with a light coating of oil to prevent rust. Your sword comes to you with either a light plastic spray or a heavy coating of grease to protect the blades in transport across the ocean. You can remove these coatings with the use of a good solvent such as lacquer thinner or mineral spirits. Once you’ve finished this, apply your light coat of oil or a silicone spray, to prevent it from gathering rust, when the sword is not in use. Do not use vegetable oil as it will go rancid. If your weapon is made from stainless steel you need not keep it oiled. You can also wipe it with a silicone coated gun/reel cloth. In many respects, the gun/reel cloth is preferred as there is less of a tendency for dust to accumulate and trap oxygen to cause pitted areas in the blade. If you wish to lacquer your blade and it arrives with an oil coat (you will know the difference) use lacquer thinner to first clean the blade and let it air dry. Test by wiping with a cotton cloth. It should be completely clean. Lacquer thinner will work far better than paint thinner, alcohol, acetone or other solvents. You may then put 4-6 coats as above. Wooden handles may be treated with a light coating of lemon oil or tung oil to help prevent cracking.

Leather scabbards and sheaths as well as leather covered handles should be treated with a good paste wax. The scabbard can also be treated with neatsfoot or mink oil for waterproofing, although this is not recommended for gripping surfaces. Do not store your sword in its scabbard for long periods of time since the leather traps moisture which can produce rust spots on the blade. One final note, the single most important thing when storing or displaying your sword or dagger is, if it has a leather scabbard, do not leave it in the scabbard. This goes even for stainless steel blades. It is, of course, fine to use a scabbard when carrying your weapon, but it simply should not be left in the scabbard for long periods of time, because it traps moisture and some tanning chemicals can have adverse reactions to metal over time.

For Damascus blades, use a light oil only. To remove rust spots, sand with emery paper of about a 600 grit, then promptly reapply a light coat of oil. Wooden handles may be treated with a light coating of lemon oil or tung oil to help prevent cracking. Leather Sheaths and scabbards as well as leather covered handles should be treated with a good paste wax. The scabbard can also be treated with neatsfoot or mink oil for waterproofing, although this is not recommended for gripping surfaces. Do not store your sword in its scabbard for long periods of time since the leather traps moisture which can produce rust spots on the blade.

DO NOT:
Do not attempt to chop down a tree with your sword.
Such an activity is guaranteed to damage your sword. Axes and machetes are well designed for this with the weight of the steel concentrated over the point of percussion. When you strike a firmly fixed object like a tree or a thick branch with a sword, a great deal of the blade projects past the object being cut, causing the blade to bend or torque. It should be pointed out that the Japanese, who believe in a lot of practice with the sword, used thick bamboo. The bamboo was resistant to a cut, but didn't have the rigidity of a tree, and so would not have damaged a valuable blade. For a Japanese warrior to cut into a tree would have been unthinkable.

Do not bang your sword against any hard object to test it's strength or the "sound" of the steel as it hits a hard object.
No matter how tough or strong the steel is in any sword, it will nick when struck against something equally hard. In stage plays or in movies, both choreographed stage combat and reenactments, theatrical swords with wide, thick edges are used. The edges are flat and often as much as 1 1/6" wide. Such theatrical swords are designed to take the flashy looking punishment of banging edges together. Most of our swords are not theatrical swords they are real weapons designed so that they could fight in the manner that the originals were actually used. Since the cutting edges were often used for slashing, parries were made with the flat of the blade (not the edges). Real swords were never used for the theatrical style of sword banging that the movies or stage plays rely on to liven up the action sequences.

Do not swing any edged weapon carelessly.
Remember, this is a real weapon and must be treated with the same respect you would give to a loaded firearm. When you wish to experience how it felt for warriors to wield these weapons in battle, make sure you are well out of reach of anyone. These weapons are heavy and could slip out of your hands. Be careful not to endanger yourself or other when you manipulate these swords.

Using Your Weapon:
No matter what the claim, any blade can be damaged in use. Our weapons are well tempered, and because of this are hard enough to take a very good edge yet are not so hard that they do not retain a good spring action. You have no doubt heard about Rockwell hardness. Many modern companies give a Rockwell hardness figure for their product and the general concept is harder the better. This however, especially for a sword blade is erroneous. First of all Rockwell hardness is meant to measure tool hardness and not as many people think, for blades. In a tool, depending on its use, the Rockwell hardness of the working surface is usually a small section of that tool. Over a longer surface the Rockwell will vary up and down the length of the blade 2 to 3 degrees. A knife with a high Rockwell number, once it gets dull is very hard to re-sharpen. A sword that is too soft or un-tempered will not break, but will simply bend and stay bent and if sharpened it will not hold an edge. Understanding that Rockwell hardness is for tools, not swords and daggers, our blades will range from about 45 to 49 on a Rockwell scale. Hard enough to take and hold a good edge, not so hard to break easily or be difficult to re-sharpen. When using your sword for swordplay we cannot stress enough that you should wear proper protection for eyes and face, as well as your full body. Even an unsharpened sword can cause serious injury and if precaution is not used easily break bone. In fighting with sword on sword, the opponents blade should be parried with the side of the blade. Edge to edge sword blows will nick both weapons no matter what the steel or temper. Also slapping with the side of the blade should be avoided as a very hard slap can break the blade. These simple truths go for not just our weapons but for any sword that was ever made and no doubt for any sword that ever will be made.

Care For Mail, Helmets And Armor:
Your mail shirt or coif will come to you with a heavy coat of oil on it. The easiest way to remove this oil is by dipping it or allowing it to soak in lacquer thinner. Of course wiping clean works well too. However once the oil is removed, moisture in the air and perspiration will cause rust to form. There is really no way to avoid this. The best way to remove light rust is to put the mail piece into a sack or pillow case with fine sand and shake it vigorously until the rust is removed. You may wish to spray a clear silicone coat on the mail. This helps to slow rust formation. If you are going to store the mail for a longer period of time, the best thing is to oil it again and keep it in a dry place. Your helmet or armor can be oiled or simply keep it dry and wipe it down with a clean cotton cloth after wearing or handling it.