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Sword Care and Maintenance

Iron Swords

Iron was used shortly after Mankind developed civilized, community dwellings.
It followed the Bronze Age and was a vast improvement to the bronze axes from that period. Meteoric iron was sought whenever possible because it typically consisted of alloys that were tougher than the iron mined from earth.

The Iron Age spanned the ancient civilizations. Greeks, Romans and Vikings used iron for their weapons. There is mounting evidence that their skills at pattern welding (Damascus steel) allowed them to produce very high quality weapons from this relatively soft metal. If you are lucky enough to have one of these, please follow the instructions for Carbon Steel Swords below.

Carbon Steel Swords - Keep Fingers Off the Blade!
(by the way, all steels are carbon steels)

The most important alloying element for iron is carbon - because it combines to form a diverse range of alloys, including wrought iron through to steels and cast iron.

Carbon steel is the most authentic sword material. It was used during the medieval and renaissance periods and is still used today.
The main problem with carbon steel is that it rusts. So, maintenance is really about keeping your sword blade out of contact with moisture or the air.

All metal parts of your sword, including the wire wrapped handles, should always be covered with a light coating of oil to prevent rust.

You should not store your sword in a sheath because moisture can form anywhere the sword contacts the sheath. Typically, this will be at the thickest point of the blade (down the middle) and along the edges. If you oil or grease your sheath liberally, then you can store your sword in it. If you choose to store your sword in a sheath, then you should check on it periodically.

Keep your sword away from humid environments. An inside closet is best if you are storing it away from sight. This keeps the sword away from harmful contact.

Every point of contact is a potential place for water to condense. If rust develops on your blade, you should clean it off as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the deeper the rust will pit your sword. If you clean it quickly then you can usually restore the original polish. Any brass or metal cleaner will work for carbon steel.

Wooden handles may be treated with a light coating of lemon oil or tung oil to help prevent cracking.

NOTE: Today, all functional swords are made of carbon spring steels (i.e. AISI 1050, AISI 1060, AISI 5160, ...). It is important to note that different smiths may heat treat the same kind of steel differently. The objective for the sword maker is to create the best balance possible between toughness (for impact absorption) and hardness (for the cutting edge).

Damascus Steel Swords

These steels are of two different types, pattern-welded Damascus and wootz Damascus, sometimes called oriental Damascus both of which were apparently first produced prior to around 500 AD. These steels have in common an attractive surface pattern composed of swirling patterns of light-etched regions on a nearly black background.

The pattern-welded steels were produced by forge welding alternating sheets of high- and low-carbon steels. This composite was then folded and forge-welded together, and the fold/forge cycle was repeated until a large number of layers was obtained.

The oriental Damascus steel itself was produced not in Damascus, but in India and became known in English literature in the early 19th century as wootz steel.

Wootz steel was produced as roughly 2.3 kg ingots, commonly referred to as cakes, that are solidified in a closed crucible. It was a relatively high-purity iron steel with 1.5% carbon.

The cakes were shipped to Damascus, Syria, where bladesmiths learned to forge them into the swords that displayed a beautiful surface pattern.

The hypereutectoid carbon level of these steels plays a key role in producing the characteristic surface pattern, because the pattern results from alignment of the Fe3C particles that form in such steels on cooling. When western Europeans first encountered these patterned weapons, they adopted the name Damascus steel. Wootz Damascus blades possessing the highest-quality damascene patterns were produced in the 16th-17th century.

Unfortunately, the technique of producing wootz Damascus steel blades is a lost art. The date of the last blades produced with the highest-quality damascene patterns is uncertain, but is probably around 1750.
Debate has persisted in the metallurgy community over the past 200 years as to how these blades were made and why the surface pattern appeared.

Today, technique to produce blades that match the best museum-quality wootz Damascus blades has been developed.

Damascus steel is produced from small steel ingot of the correct composition (Fe + 1.5C) is produced in a closed crucible and is then forged to a blade shape. However, some key factors are now specified. These include the time/temperature record of the ingot preparation, the temperature of the forging operations, and the type and composition level of impurity elements in the Fe + 1.5C steel. It appears that the most important factor is the type of impurity elements in the steel ingot. Bands of clustered Fe3C particles can be produced in the blades by the addition of very small amounts (0.03% or less) of one or more carbide-forming elements, such as V, Mo, Cr, Mn, and Nb. The elements vanadium and molybdenum appear to be the most effective elements in causing the band formation to occur.

Stainless Steel Swords

Carbon Steel with addition of nickel and chromium result in the wide range of stainless steels, which are hard and chemically durable alloys.

These alloys corrode to form protective coatings of chromium oxide/nickel oxide,
and transform iron into a much less reactive metal.

Stainless Steel is one of the most common metals used in high quality cutlery today.
It has the desired flexibility and hardness required to handle tough treatment and keep an edge.

Although stainless steel, 420 and 440 series being the most common, is thought by many to be invulnerable to corrosion, this is not true. With stainless steel, one must be more cautious because the evidence of corrosion does not show itself as quickly as it does on carbon steel.

Most "wall hanger" swords are made of Stainless Steel. If there is bronze on the handle, you should put a light coat of oil or grease on it to protect it from deep tarnishing.

However, the blade will not easily rust. Stainless steel can rust if it is in direct contact with water. But it is easily polished away and restored to its original shine.
Preventive maintenance should be used as described for the carbon steel swords, however you may choose to use a good metal polish periodically.

NOTE: Although 420 and 440 stainless steels are excellent for knives, they are inappropriate for functional swords. However, stainless steel is great choice for display and decorative swords.

Cast Steel or Alloy Blades

Cast steel and alloys are used on decorative and theatrical swords.

Their cast metal blades are non-functional and cannot be sharpened (for example all Denix swords).
Cast steel is not flexible like forged carbon steel or stainless steel. That means you cannot bend the blade back and forth.

Cast steel will bend once, but if you try to restore it to its original form, it will break rather than bend back. That is why swords are forged and tempered.

Cast steel usually will not rust, but it should be kept clean. If you are hanging a cast steel sword (and they are great for this), you should give it a light coating of gun grease and then you can rest secure. It will look authentic on the wall and feel authentic in your hands. It just won't be very useful for actual combat. If you don't plan to fight with your sword, cast steel is an affordable way to create a medieval look without spending hundreds of dollars.

CLEANERS

WD40 - Stay away from any all-purpose lubricants. WD40 may be great for many purposes, but not for real authentic swords. It contains kerosene and fish oil, which evaporates quickly and leaves your sword unprotected to rust!

Flitz - It's essentially a metal polish and polishes most metals to a gleam. But use it only once for those harder-to-remove stains on your stainless steel blade. Contrary to public opinion, Flitz contains a mild abbrasive, and thus should never be used on a real Japanese sword!

Japanese Choji Clove Oil - This is by far the best. After all, the Japanese have used it for centuries. The clove oil's primary purpose is to prevent rusting, as low alloy plain carbon steel can rust from water, moisture, blood, etc. Oil is made of 99% mineral oil and only 1% of clove oil for fragrance. Japanese choji clove oil has worked for centuries and is completely time-proven.
NOTE: Do not use clove oil from a pharmacy because this is pure clove oil and your sword will rust!

Windex - This is good for stainless steel to get those fingerprints off. But then again, why are those fingerprints on the blade in the first place? Some people's skin oils are more acidic than others, and in the long run, can even stain a stainless steel blade. So in that case, maybe use some Flitz to get it off.

Gun Oil - Get some Remmington Gun Oil, you could also try a silicone-based oil, but stay away from anything that claims to be an all-purpose agent.

Sword Cleaning Kit - Set of traditional Samurai sword cleaning formula and instruments.
This kit includes Japanese choji clove oil for blade, rice papers, oiling cloth, a powder ball for blade polishing and a brass awl and hammer. order here!

Hanwei Sword Oil - Specially formulated to provide corrosion protection for high-carbon steel blades and other edged weapons. Ideal for covering exposed metal guards and wire-wrapped grips, and various scabbard components.

Renaissance Wax - If you would like to protect the swords and other edged weapons in your collection from moisture and finger marks, then try this micro-crystalline wax polish. It's a blend of refined waxes used by the British Museum and international restoration specialists to revive and protect valuable metals, furniture, leather, paintings and more. It freshens surfaces and dries hard instantly. 200 ml cannister. Use sparingly- a little goes a long way.

            

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