[Fiona Cumming]

Hi guys!

We just inherited a nice sabre. We are unsure of its origins as it came from a house my partners father bought in Switzerland. We think that the man who lived there before my father-in-law was an officer in the Swiss army as we found his rifle too. The sabre seems a lot older though. We just polished up the pommel of it and it turned out nicely but the blade is a bit rusty in places. We wondered if anyone on here knew the best way to retore the sword to its former glory. I think its a briquet but I'm not sure...

We dont want to just have at it with steel wool or such like but would be very greatful for any tips you might have on getting the blade back to being rust-free.

Thanks

Fiona

[Jean Thibodeau]

Removing any active rust is a good thing but getting it shiny as new would ruin any value it has as a collection piece and ruin it as a historical artifact.

Also, it is also removing it's character and personal history.

Anything done to the sword should be very light removing of dirt or active rust but any serious abrasive polishing should be avoided and even with a modern made sword one should avoid this unless one knows how to restore the original polish which could be a satin finish and not always a very bright mirror polish.

[Fiona Cumming]

Thanks for the advice. I dont want to get it good as new really. I just want to get rid of the rust. How would you go about getting rid of the active rust?

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Glen A Cleeton]

Hi Fiona,

A good first step is to get a firm identification of the piece. if you are able to share pictures, that is usually pretty helpful. Any letters, numbers or other markings on the sword can help better identify it as well. A briquet usually referes to a curved sword with a solid brass hilt but there are exceptions to nearly every rule.

I'm going to post a few links to sword conservation articles. Each a little different and from slightly diverse viewpoints.

An old favorite and pretty simply worded with a good common sense outlook
http://members.aol.com/machood/swordcare.html

Ron Ruble's school of don't mess with it (much), I think I want to ply him with cheeseburgers sometime so he'll bargain with me.
http://www.ruble-enterprises.com/restoration.htm

Here's an article on another sword site that touches base with some dos and don'ts. There are also attached forums with a dedicated Antique&Military section.
http://swordforum.com/articles/ams/conservation.php

I get carried away with internet resources but there are some great tips for just about anything conservation at this site. Somewhere in there is a terrific e-list I can never remember, so I keep the main page of links bookmarked.
http://www.dmoz.org/Reference/Museums/Museum_...servation/

This is the front page for the other I was thinking of.
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/

In the end, for a great many collectors, how far they go varies a great deal. I know I can't stand a murky look to old gold plate waiting to be uncovered, or a blade that could be scrubbed a bit to really make a huge diffrence. Most will say (and I agree overall, as you seem to also grasp) proceed slowly with decisions about this. the first three links will give you a good idea of the general philosophies. Each piece is often an individual situation for me. Some I go a good bit further with than others. Some had been taken a bit too far before I adopted them.

Cheers

GC