Hi all,

I purchased a modern reproduction of the famous (or notorious, depending on who you ask) 1796 Heavy Cavalry sword made by Universal Swords. This sword will be a Christmas gift to my father and brother, both of whom are huge fans of Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" series, in which the main character carries and uses this sword.

In order to get an authentic, battle tested look, I used Sean Flynt's guide on antiquing steel sword blades (https://myArmoury.com/feature_antique.html). I thought I'd share the results.

First, a few initial shots. I didn't take any of the sword right out of the box, but those can be found online. Here's the blade immediately after sanding and applying the first round of vinegar/salt solution:

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As you can see, the blade is beginning to rust but is still far too shiny and toy-looking for my taste.

Here are the results after several applications of the solution, followed each time by a sanding and cleaning of the blade:

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The final steps were to have the blade engraved with my brother and father's initials, and then I put the blade through one more round of corrosive solution, taking care to tape up the engraved monograms. I'm happy with the result and am eager to present this gift - this is a very cool, if extremely blade heavy and crude looking, sword:

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Nicely done! I've used the 'salt-vinegar' method on several blades, and it really does work very well. I'm sure your father and brother will treasure it. :D .....McM