Antique Sword Cleaning

How and when to clean up antique arms and armour is, by far, the most common question I receive. Each collector has their own preferences—some like to leave their items completely untouched while others will happily embrace full-on restoration. For me, the correct level of cleaning lies somewhere in the middle and each item must be assessed individually and with great care. This article represents the sum total of my experience cleaning up hundreds of historical swords and other antique weapons in varying conditions. For your convenience, I have included links to any products the first time they are mentioned in the text and then also at the end of the article.

Before we begin, it’s important to unsheath a few disclaimers. Firstly, working on antiques can reduce their value drastically—if you have something precious or you’re unsure about cleaning in any way please contact an expert or consider sending me a message via Patreon.

You alone are responsible for any damage to your items and, sometimes, the best course of action is to do nothing. Secondly, the majority of my experience comes from working on historical European and Indo-Persian arms so if you’ve alighted on this article in the hope of tackling an antique Japanese weapon then please understand that nihonto (and antiquities of other cultures) require a vastly different approach. Thirdly, I recommend employing trained conservators to clean your antique sword as they are highly skilled professionals whose knowledge and expertise far eclipse that of most hobbyists. Fourthly, wear appropriate personal safety equipment.

Rust

Most of the blades that I see are rusty to some degree. There are two main types of rust: the black patches and pitting of dead rust and the dusty red of active rust. The black patches detract from the aesthetic qualities of a blade but they often show its age, too—an aspect that many people actually prefer. Active rust should never be left to progress, however, because it will continue to destroy the steel until it is neutralised or the healthy metal is completely gone.

My preferred method for taking off superficial rust is to use a polish called Autosol. This is easily found online and can be applied with one’s fingers, old rags or even fine-grade steel wool, depending upon the subject’s stubbornness. After applying the polish to the steel, carefully work it in with your preferred vehicle and then use clean, soft rags to take it off. An old toothbrush will remove any left polish leftover in crevices and cracks as long as you use it before the polish dries. This process can be repeated until the desired result has been obtained but one or two rounds is usually enough. Illustrated above-left is an Edwardian sword hilt covered in active rust; illustrated above-right is the same sword after being scrubbed with steel wool and gently polished with Autosol. You can loosen the integrity of the rust by soaking the steel overnight with oil or a product like WD40.

Before and After Treating with De-Corroder

An alternative to this physical method is chemical removal. Products like Evaporust and Renaissance De-Corroder by Picreator will eat away at rust and leave the naked steel behind. I used De-Corroder on the spear to the left to remove the old, dead rust on its surface. This product is a gel that can be painted on using a brush and so it can be applied accurately, omitting spots where a chemical might be undesired. This is a brilliant feature and has ensured that it’s now the first method I will try on antique steel. The gel will dry. To remove it, I splash on some water and scrub it off before drying and inspecting the result. De-Corroder is one of the gentlest chemical removers of rust so it allows you to go at the slow, careful pace that antiquities require.

A Heavily Pitted and Rusty Blade after Treatment with Evaporust

A Heavily Pitted and Rusty Blade after Treatment with Evaporust

The blade pictured horizontally here was heavily rusted and pitted and far beyond what steel wool could improve so it was left in a bath of Evaporust for two days. The end result is an improvement but, in my opinion, the finish is quite matte and artificial-looking when viewed in person and polishing the surface would create a strange salt-and-pepper contrast. In this case, the sword has been improved as it was in terrible condition but the finish might not be for everyone.

Finally, the tried and true method of sitting there for hours (if not days) with magnification and a good scalpel is still my go-to. This involves several podcasts, cups of coffee and simply using the scalpel to remove millimeters of rust at a time, often over several ‘passes’. It can be combined with the other methods listed in the article.

Grease

Before

Old grease is another common element that one might have to deal with and this will often have darkened and hardened. Two methods can be employed to break it up: white spirit might soften the grease enough to simply scrub it off; while dental or bamboo picks can be used to chip it off. Both methods require care if used on brass as it is a soft metal easily scratched and any gilding that might still exist under the film of grease will likely be thin. Hard, dry grease can be seen on the hilt pictured above left, with the eventual results observable above right (the dark parts of the finished hilt are naked brass). These results were achieved by painstakingly chipping off the grease a few millimetres at a time but it was worth it as underneath there was a surprising amount of gold-plating still intact.

After

Cleaning Brass

Brasso is a product that many owners will likely have used on brass hilts, trench art, artillery shells and so on. It is often applied liberally and it almost always leaves an undesirable green-grey residue behind. This likes to inhabit any valleys and nooks and to be removed it must be chipped off which can be a laborious and fiddly process. Lemon juice will help to break it up but this will also lighten the colour of the brass and, while nobody likes the residue, brass’s natural dull patina is actually much desired by some collectors so a lightening might not be entirely sensible (although I have found that brass will usually return to a darkened state within a couple of years, even without handling). The hilts shown above had considerable residue nestling within their voids, especially within the royal cyphers, and this required softening with lemon juice before being picked out, bit by bit, with dental picks or things like porcupine quills. The finished effect is well worth the effort, though, in my opinion. It’s important to point out that Brasso is an acceptable product if used in small amounts and you don’t mind a little abrasion. Pre-Lim is a very mild abrasive paste that is used by myriad conservation professionals and it comes highly recommended. The patina of the brass mounts on the scabbard pictured here was evened out until a satin finish was achieved and then allowed to naturally re-patinate.

Restoring Grips

Shagreen and Grip-Wire

To clean shagreen (a cured fishskin used to wrap some antique handles), I use a stiff-bristled toothbrush and a circular motion. I will then feed the shagreen with a light oil like 3-in-1 or Baby Oil, dabbing off any excess and leaving the remainder to soak in (this might also feed the grip’s wooden core which can be dried out, split and shrunken). If you have shagreen that’s peeled away from the wooden core then you can glue it back down with wood glue although I’m not sure how authentic this method is. If you’re using Evaporust elsewhere on a sword keep it away from the shagreen as it will eat it away entirely, given enough time. The grip-wire, if there is any still present, can be buffed gently and even polished bright but care must be taken because it is often fragile. If the wire is actually loose then you can reseat it by rewrapping it (a tight finish is desirable but the wire can snap under tension so care must be taken and the risk of breakage understood) and then feeding the end back into the hole that should be under the knuckle-bow near the ferrule. Wood glue and a couple of cocktail sticks cut to act as pegs should keep the wire’s end in the hole. Here are some befores-and-afters of grip-wire tidying:

Leather

Over time, leather will dry out, lose its strength and crumble. Dry and cracking scabbards, hilt liners (see above), and grip coverings can be fed with a few different products. I use Dubbin, Elephant Wax and Saddle Soap, and I have yet to find much of a difference in effect between these three products. Apply them sparingly with a soft toothbrush or clean cloth, allow the product to ‘soak’ in for at least a few minutes and then take off any excess with a clean rag. There are many clever saddlers out there that would be happy to advise on leather care, I’m sure.

Rebuilding

To rebuild the grip of this 1796 Pattern Light Cavalry Sabre, I used black Milliput. First, the old, white filler was carefully chipped away and the exposed wooden core brushed down to remove dust and debris, ensuring the face to be worked on was clean. Then, the Milliput was mixed, pressed into the ‘wound’ and textured to look more like antique leather before allowing to set. Finally, (not pictured) the new section was given several coats of buffed Renaissance Wax to give it a satin finish that matched the leather of the rest of the grip. I have no experience of the longevity of this method when it is applied to handled items as this was meant as a cosmetic repair on a sword for display only. Pictures on the left are included courtesy of Easton Antique Arms.

Old Varnish

This South Indian katar had been covered in thick varnish by a previous owner (a common practice used by previous generations to seal steel from moisture). This layer succeeded in preserving some of the katar’s condition but it had peeled in many places, moisture had found a way to get underneath it and it had all taken on an ugly yellow colour. The katar’s overlaid silver surface was already peeling so removal of the varnish required great care in order to preserve as much of the precious metal as possible. I used a product called Strypit to kill the integrity of the varnish then I applied 3-in-1 Oil and used a cloth to remove any leftover gunk. Problem areas were cleared using cocktail sticks and the odd scalpel-prod. The blade was far more robust and so I could scrub it with oil and steel wool before giving it a minor polishing.

Power Tools

While some purists sneer at such methods I believe that they have their place. (If Henry Wilkinson had had access to today’s power tools he most certainly would have used them alongside the powered rollers and Ryder Hammers in the company’s Victorian workshop.) Essentially, they do the same job as the manual methods listed above except at a much quicker pace. Of course, this increase in speed also means an increase in the risk of damaging something and so it’s important to practice first and to go slowly. In one of the photographs above, we can see a late-1700s spadroon with a hilt darkened by grease, minor rust and impacted dust being cleaned away to reveal the unharmed (and still patinated) steel beneath. This was done, in part, with a Dremel rotary tool and a metal wire brush head. If used with little pressure, the wire isn’t hard enough to hurt the steel beneath; but it is hard enough to attack the rust above. I advise eschewing the wire wheels that seem obvious to use at first: because they don’t last long and tend to shed wires in an undesirable fashion. Instead, use these long wire heads as they are much better. These heads were also used to rejuvenate the disc pommel of the Indian tulwar pictured above. This level of work isn’t applicable to every piece and going slow, by hand, with a scalpel is often a better and more accepted method, however, in this case I desired a stripped-back clean surface to in order prepare the hilt for the application of an etchant.

Avoid those that say they do not use power tools when it’s obvious they do.

Protecting your Hard Work

To finish, it’s a good idea to seal the steel against moisture and oxygen and some people like to do this by wiping down their blades with an oily cloth. Others, like me, prefer to apply a few coats of Renaissance Wax to seal the blade invisibly. Renaissance Wax is a well-respected conservation product used by the best museums worldwide and it can be applied to wood and leather as well as metals. I apply a thin coat of the wax, let it dry and then buff it with a clean, soft cloth before repeating the process until I’m happy. This protects the underlying metal and also gives it a nice satin finish. It is a quick and easy process, and well worth it. You can also apply a layer of ‘blueing’ to steel that will improve the resistance of a metal surface against corrosion but this is something that should be applied only under certain circumstances. Traditionally, it was applied via a few different methods to Georgian and Victorian sword and dagger blades and firearms, and it was often accompanied by engravings that were gilded. The effect was a beautiful one and such blades are often found on the most desirable European antique swords. To touch up or restore blueing, I use Bisley Gun Blue and would advise practising with it before applying it to anything valuable - it can be a fiddly process and the gel is more designed to go black than the iridescent royal blue of antique finishes, as is the case with all cold blueing products. Illustrated here is recently applied blueing on a late-1700s Anglo-Spanish sword. If you have restored such things as blueing it is advisable to inform any future buyers, in my opinion.

Here are links to all the products I’ve mentioned.

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Matthew Forde63 Comments