Right now I am interested in finding some of the older Del-Tin swords sold by Museum Replicas. I own two, and I find the steel a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the newer Del-Tin's of which I have owned 6 of. Could even be in "storage" condition too, but hopefully just some rust, no actual defects.

If anyone has any old MRL catalogs and can provide some scans of the swords they used to sell, I'd appreciate that. I find a lot of models that pop up that he doesn't sell today.

Interested.

Have any pictures of it, plus how much you'd want for it?

I'm just shopping around, but I've never owned an Irish ring hilt, so a Del-Tin would be a good addition to my collection.

Nathan Bell wrote:

Aaron Justice wrote: Right now I am interested in finding some of the older Del-Tin swords sold by Museum Replicas. I own two, and I find the steel a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the newer Del-Tin's of which I have owned 6 of. Could even be in "storage" condition too, but hopefully just some rust, no actual defects. If anyone has any old MRL catalogs and can provide some scans of the swords they used to sell, I'd appreciate that. I find a lot of models that pop up that he doesn't sell today. Anything in particulat that you are seeking? I have the old MRL/DT Irish ring hilt (with recurved spatulate cross), that will probably move out of my collection soon.....

MRL/DT "Abingdon" sword (same as the current DT 2101, but with silver plated hilt instead of plain bronze):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem...:B:LC:US:1

MRL/DT "Historical Excalibur" (based on some Anglo-Saxon sword fittings, assembled "in shop" using a DT blade):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2250584715

Thanks. I mentioned the Abingdon sword in another thread about blade straightening, an interesting read from Peter Johnsson.

And the historical excalibur looks interesting. I saw that one too but did not know it was a Del-Tin blade. Definitely a interesting variation from the type X's used in half of his swords (vikings and such).

David Wilson wrote:

MRL/DT "Abingdon" sword (same as the current DT 2101, but with silver plated hilt instead of plain bronze): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem...:B:LC:US:1 MRL/DT "Historical Excalibur" (based on some Anglo-Saxon sword fittings, assembled "in shop" using a DT blade): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2250584715

Hi Aaron,
I have the MRL "Historical Excalibur" ... it's the first and only piece I've purchased from MRL and I enjoy the sword. It has a pretty good feel to it, and the grip is surprisingly comfortable. I'm including a picture of it on here for you.

I also have every MRL catalog since the early 90's (somewhere in a box in one of my closets). Do you have any particular swords in mind that you'd like to have scanned from the catalogs? If so, I'll dig them out and give them a look through to find the swords you want and provide some pics for you.

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My one and only MRL sword ... their "Historical Excalibur" sword with a Del Tin blade.

Hey, it looks nice! I'll have to clean it if I get it...

I'm looking for any of the swords they had that aren't current models sold by himself or Albion, specifically anything viking to before the renaissance.

Thanks, Aaron ... I've had this MRL sword since probably around 1993 or 1994 (at least I think it was during that time ... I bought it when MRL first came out with it and it's been several years).

I also looked at the one on eBay and it does look like it needs a good cleaning, but it looks in good shape other than that. I have a feeling you'd probably like it if you get it. I must admit that the rose bronze hilt fittings can be a little high maintenance because it seems to tarnish very quickly. However, a little trick that seems to have worked on mine is to use Crest toothpaste as a cleaner/polish. The last time I cleaned it I used Crest on the hilt fittings (being careful not to get it into the black leather wrapping) and it hasn't tarnished once ... and that was nearly a year ago. Before using the Crest, I used to have to polish it at least every other month or it would begin turning green.

During the next couple of days I'll start looking through my old MRL catalogs to find you some pics (it'll be fun to look through them again).

If you can get a pic of the Irish Ring hilt (I haven't heard back from Nathan Bell about it yet) I'd appreciate it. But as I said, I find some of the Del-Tin swords that are no longer offered, such as their "Moonbrand" style sword that I own, are much more interesting than many of the swords which all seem to share the type X variations You know, the ones that all have 39" lengths.

A Del-Tin short sword would be nice.

I'll be digging out my old MRL catalogs this evening, Aaron ... I'll try to get you some scans of the swords you mentioned. :)

By the way, Aaron, I was looking closely at the MRL Historical Excalibur that's on eBay right now. It definitely has some pretty big spots of corrosion on the hilt fittings and what appears to be a little rust at blade base. If you should happen to get that sword, here's some good cleaning tips to bring it back to like new condition (these tips worked really well on mine) ...

For the blade, I would use some Break Free with a Scotchbrite pad (the gray one) and use little to no real pressure in back & forth motions along the length of the blade to clean any rust from it. It takes a while doing this method, but it doesn't dig into the blade or put scratches on it. Afterward, I would apply some Happich Semi-Chrome polish (abailable at any Harley-Davidson shop) and polish the blade with that ... talk about a polish that turns a blade totally beautiful! I've used it for years on all my swords and it's the best polish I've ever seen and it even eliminates any micro scratches that might be in the blade as well. After the Happich polish, I would apply a coat of Trewax (clear) to protect the blade.

For the hilt fittings, I've found that the best cleaner/polish to get rid of the green tarnish on my MRL sword is just regular ole' Brasso applied with a rag and a toothbrush for those engraved areas. After the Brasso polish is done, I usually follow up with using regular Crest toothpaste on it which polishes it even more, brings out the nice rose bronze color and somehow keeps it from tarnishing again for very long periods of time (Crest seems to be good for more than just helping prevent cavities).

I was reading the description of the MRL sword on eBay and I should tell you that wrapping on the hilt that the seller describes as "black wire wrap" is not wire at all. It is black leather cord. For care of the black leather cord, I usually use a very extremely thin coat of Vaseline. My MRL sword is now over ten years old and the black leather cord still looks and feels like brand new.

It's too bad that the seller doesn't have the scabbard that comes with the sword ... the scabbard that's supposed to come with the sword is not expensive, but it's not a bad one and looks pretty good.

All in all, I've been really pleased with my MRL Historical Excalibur over the years ... it's a very comfortable little sword to hold and I like the look of it. I've not held many "Viking" styled swords, so I really can't compare the balance with anything close, but the "heft" of the sword feels really good.

If you decide to go for the MRL Historical Excalibur that's on eBay, I wish you good fortune on the bidding and, if you get it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed mine over the years. In my collection of 19 swords, I have 5 that I really favor and my MRL Historical Excalibur is one of those five. :)

Thanks for the tips. I have two older Del-Tins I got of eBay from the same seller, and both were in AWFUL condition. One side of the blade, on the Moonbrand, was almost pure black from oxidation. Seller listed it as "a light darkening". Pssh.

Basically, about two days sanding with low grit, medium grit, and high grit sandpaper brought them to an acceptable level of sheen. Still lots of pitting and black spots of oxidation, but it gives the blade a "battle worn" look. I also had to replace the leather on the handle, so if it comes to that on the Excalibur, no big deal. I might even try to use a dark reddish brown color leather, my favorite color combo with the rosiness of bronze.

-edited because of terrible spelling-

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Wow, man! Those two swords cleaned up very nice, Aaron. The idea of the dark reddish brown leather on the Historical Excalibur grip sounds nice. If that sword happens for you, please be sure to post some before & after pics. I'd love to see the end result, especially with the dark reddish brown leather on the grip. I bet that'll look great! :)

This is what it used to look like. Actually, it probably looked worse. I never took a before and after picture though.

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Hey, Aaron ... just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you or scanning pics from my old MRL catalogs. I'm just having trouble finding them. They're all in a box tucked away somewhere and when my ex-wife moved to the west coast back in February, we had moved a lot of stuff around in the house. The box is still here somewhere, I know that ... I just haven't found it yet. Will get some pics scanned for you as soon as I locate them. :)

No worries there James. Personally, I wish someone would scan the catalogs and make PDF's of them just so these catalogs won't be lost forever.