Greetings, all.

Interesting subject of which to evaluate today. I was reading through the blade maintenance feature on the Features page, and I took note (read: "chuckled at") of the quite interesting statement, "blood does not make a good polish." Then it suddenly occured to me, "Wait, do we know this for certain?" Perhaps that's a bit gruesome, so let me explain.

The basis of my post is my curiosity as to the result of a sword... well, doing what it's supposed to do. Do we know what happens when blood is left to stain? When swords are excavated, can we tell how much blood it has let? How much flesh it bit? Was there blood on it when it reached it's grave? I think these are scenarios with which to delve into further detail. It's a really beautiful to understand the life of a blade.

Any thoughts on the matter?

-- MZC

P. S. Admittedly, it might be a bit unhealthy to find the thought of blood on a sword "beautiful," but... That's beside the point.

Blood, like most other bodily fluids such as skin oils and sweat, will etch and/or corrode steel.

[EDIT: oops, looks like I was beaten to the punch :)]

Blood is pretty bad for blades.

It's full of chemically active components, and will certainly corrode steel if left on too long. It doesn't stain a blade, it actively destroys it. Pretty typical of most organic stuff - skin oil, sweat, saliva (really bad), and even just your breath can be harmful to a sword.

In Japanese koryu ("old" martial arts that have survived from times when they were actually used, as opposed to modern derived arts) it is common to finish every form with a symbolic removal of blood from the blade. Keeping a blade clean, and wiping it down after use, is a pretty standard measure across history and geography, not merely in Japan.

I know of no empirical chemical or physical test to tell how much a given sword has been used. There are indirect methods based on style and mountings, wear and tear (chips, sometimes even with bits of other swords stuck in them), and sometimes even individual histories in the case of some famous or interesting swords. To use Japanese swords as an example (again), some blades have documented ownership and anecdotes attached to them, or even inscriptions on the tang indicating that they were used in test cutting (on cadavers or criminals).

[Edit #2: Also in Japanese blades it is pretty easy to assess the relative degree to which a blade has been polished down and otherwise altered, which again is aguably (but very indirectly) related to how much it was used.]

Cheers,
-GLL

As it contains oxygenated iron (at least arterial blood does) and a lot of water, blood is halfway to being rust in the first place (It’s the same basic chemical reaction) – getting it on your sword should be avoided at all costs ;)

Neil.

Wow, amazing stuff, folks.

Neil,
Wasn't at all expecting to hear that blood was essentially rust. As a metal head, I can't help but allude to Megadeth's "Rust In Peace" and can imagine that an enitre new meaning can be applied.

Fascinating information. Thanks, all!

During 30 years of re-enactment I have seen blades go into people rather more times than I would have liked. One of the reasons I now do historical sworfdsmanship as a martial art rather than re-enactment is that it's so much safer. I have never seen a blade that has entered a human body and been rapidly removed come out with blood on it.

In my unfortunate experience where I was cut by a sword with the wound resulting in immediate bleeding, since the blade wasn't stuck in my body for any moment(thank god) and was just a light hit, there wasn't visible blood on the blade/edge at all. I have no experience in cases like Stephen's.

Actually, I heard from several practitioners of koryu that the chiburi is, indeed, only an emergency and temporary measure. If they were in a real fight they wouldn't have sheathed the blade right away, but would have wiped it at least and probably oiled it a bit before placing it back into the saya. The kata have them sheathing their swords directly only because it's not exactly polite to brandish your drawn sword among people you're supposed to regard as friends.

Over the last seven years, having bled on a lot of blades being made, and sometimes not cleaning the blade for several days afterwards....... I tend to view the comments about blood on a blade as a bit overdone.......

Sometimes, after cleaning dried blood off of a blade, there is a bit of a dark stain underneath. Sometimes, clean the blood off, and the blade is clean.........

This after three or more days..........

Well, there you have it, from someone who knows. :) After paying up to $100/inch on an contest-grade polish for some Japanese blades I suppose I have a warped perspective on keeping blades clean...

On a related note, the one time I cut myself on one of my blades there was zero blood on it afterwards (cleaned it anyway just to be safe).