Stains on sword blade from leather scabbard, removable? -- myArmoury.com

Benjamin T

I just received my Cold Steel chinese war sword. The blade was spotless when I first looked at it. As I only collect I then put it in its scabbard. After a couple of days in the scabbard which I have noticed looks quite bad with white powder on the inside.. the blade is now full of stains. It looks really bad (worse than the pictures, if I manage to upload them)... Its terribly disappointing, and I cant understand how they can include such a low quality scabbard :/

I was wondering if there is any way for me to remove these stains? I have tried with a normal cloth, wet cloth etc... I havent dared using any chemicals yet as I am unaware of what is recommended..

It did cost a fortune to get this sword here in norway, with import taxes etc, so im simply a little put out by this. I really hope you guys have some advice for me.

E: I wasnt able to upload the pictures as I kept getting an "upload error", I will try again asap.

E: There we go

Brogdon Combs · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject:

Try using Metal Glo. It's an ultra-fine abrasive paste made for use on swords and knives. It also goes by the name 'Stanley Metal Glo', but both are fine ad are produced by Windlass Steelcrafts. The best prices are either on Amazon or at place like Trueswords.com or KultofAthena.com... this should take out those stains with no problem, if they're like the ones my old Windlass Verneuil got from its leather scabbard (white powder- ugh. :-/ ). Admittedly, yours are far worse, but still... the metal glo should resolve the issue, IMO. Wink

I hope this helps! ;D

-Brogdon Combs

Benjamin T · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 2:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the advice! Since its got to be ordered from the US i'll wait and see if anyone else have some suggestions, but metal glo seems like a good option. So please keep the suggestions coming! Happy

I was wondering if this issue could be solved by contacting cold steel. I cant believe that this is a normal problem with their scabbards? Even if I would be able to remove the stains, the scabbard is completely useless, which is a major con in my opinion.. at least for the price I paid.

Skyler R. · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 2:54 pm Post subject:

It is not recomended to store blades in sheaths since they can collect and trap water. This isn't just for Cold Steel items but for any sheath. You can either not store the sword in the sheath or get a scabbard made for it. Metal Glo or another fine polishing agent should remove the rust, but if it doesn't then you will have to go with something more aggressive like very fine steel wool or very fine sand paper (start as high as possible, and if needed go lower).

Benjamin T · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 2:59 pm Post subject:

I see, but could this possibly be water? And it does not seem to be rust. The color of the scabbard (black on the outside and black/brown, stainy, white powder'ish on the inside) seems to have gotten on the blade. It cant be likely that such serious water damage would have been done after such a short period of time, and in addition it has never been used or stored even close to a wet enviroment :S.. Again, ive had it for 2 days, never used to cut anything, only removed from box and put on display :/

I hope im not sounding too negative, but ive never experienced anything similar on my other swords (even though I dont have that many)

Edit: the stain on the second picture from the top actually appeared after I first put the sword in the scabbard the day I got it. After having the sword briefly in the sheath I noticed the stain. The rest of the stains (as seen on the other pictures) were discovered today

Scott S. · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 3:13 pm Post subject:

Brogdon Combs · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 4:21 pm Post subject:

Metal Glo can be purchased on Ebay, Amazon or other online sources, so maybe you could find someone selling it in Norway?

I'm pretty sure that the powder is for protecting the leather. (I'm not sure why it would need to be protected, though... ?) Try using something to clean out the scabbard, like a rifle-barrel cleaner thingie (have you noticed that I know nothing about guns yet? Wink

), or a thin rod/stick wrapped in a cloth. Or you could try just holding the sheath upside down and banging it, lol! Don't worry, though, both the problem with the blade and the one with the sheath can certainly be fixed.

If you have to use sandpaper, be sure to start with no lower grit than 1000. I would reccomend 1200-2000 as a starter, personally, and then you'd work your way down until the stains came off. They appear to just be powder that has stuck to the blade, though, so metal glo would be the cheapest and least abbrasive option. Heck, even WD-40 may do the trick.

-Brogdon

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Bryce Felperin · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject:

Brogdon Combs · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 4:51 pm Post subject:

Brogdon Combs · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 4:54 pm Post subject:

Evan Jones · Posted: Wed 18 Nov, 2009 4:55 pm Post subject:

I support those promoting Metal Glo. I took my sword(blunt sparring sword) to a college halloween party where it was handled outdoors by some drunk people who gave it back to me with dew all over the inside of the scabbard. When I woke up 8 hours later, the blade had liberal amounts of VERY BAD rust all over it. The Metal Glo took it all right off, and the blade looks good as new.

Additionally, since leather sheaths are generally bad for carbon steel blades, it sounds like you now have an excuse for a Chinese-themed wood-cored scabbard project Big Grin

Hadrian Coffin · Industry Professional

Hadrian Coffin · Industry Professional

Oil is fine on leather, most dyes are oil based. I always rub my swords down with break free and rub the leather with the oil as well. I have yet to find an issue with it.
Cheers,
Hadrian

Benjamin T · Posted: Thu 19 Nov, 2009 2:00 am Post subject:

Including some pictures of the inside of the scabbard if it might be of any use. I should point out that the leather has a very strong smell that I havent experienced with leather in the past. It could best be described as the smell of a very cheap "leather" belt with a slight touch of fish :S The point is that it smells a lot, and not good, and I do have quite a bit of leather belts and so on, none which come near this smell. I guess this last information doesnt help much, but I was wondering if the smell might come from rot.

The pictures are taken after I used a cloth to carefully wipe away some of the white powder.

Bruno Giordan · Posted: Thu 19 Nov, 2009 10:53 am Post subject:

Probably you got some fungi.

If alcohol doesnt make any efefct just keep the blade in the sun or wahatever articial light you use to tan yourselves in Norway (here it is pitch dark btw and in the day it is cloudy so there si no worth sun as well ).

UV light should make the difference.

Matthew Fedele · Posted: Thu 19 Nov, 2009 2:57 pm Post subject:

It doesn't look like corrosion to me from the pictures, it looks like wear marks. Or kind of like the color when you rub buffed metal with 2000 grit sand paper.

Edit: And your finger prints aren't helping the metal at all there mate.

Jared Smith · Posted: Thu 19 Nov, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject:

It looks like you have a scabbard with no core, and blade in direct contact with leather. I would also guess from the photo's appearance that it is a thin upholstery grade of leather, which in my opinion, is not as good as premium vegetable tanned tooling grades of leather that the more reputable scabbard makers praised here would choose to use for something like this. (Upholstery types of leathers may be chromium chemical base tanned, and a long term source of problem in areas of metal to leather contact.)

(Most modern knife makers and collectors call all leather construction a "sheath". There does not seem to be any surviving written Medieval definition of "sheath" versus "scabbard" , but, this is a very popular terminology convention today.) Waxing the blade (oils and solvents removed with acetone first) with Renaissance wax before storing it in an all leather case may be one of the better options if it is in direct contact with leather that is causing some problems.

The interior looks have a "white film". It could be carnuba wax residue, or another paste wax residue that may have been used to seal the finished leather. (I sometimes put caruba wax into small, homemade tool sheaths by applying the liquid wax to the blade and repeatedly inserting it. For a time, it does deposit white residue on the blade. This gradually decreases with use. I prefer brief immersion of leather sheaths in warm melted paraffin/ bee's wax solution. This also stiffens the leather up. Few will have a double boiler pot large enough to safely hot dip a sword sized sheath though.) If you have the stitching opened with access for buffing, you might want to use some new carnuba wax and buff it. Let it dry well (several days, near an air conditioning vent with warm air blowing against it if possible, or use a hair dryer once a day for a few days) before using it again. That should seal it pretty well against indoor humidity fluctuations or very minor exposure to outdoor rain sprinkles. If you do decide to go that route, the carnuba wax is available through leather craft suppliers. (Fiebings and other brands that produce dyes and finishing waxes for leather working.)

Benjamin T · Posted: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 4:24 pm Post subject:

Update: I brought it back to the store and asked them about the problem. They did point out that this was not supposed to happen, and at least not after the short period of time in this case. So they would see what they could do about it, and in case it wasnt "as new" again they would simply order a new one for me.

I'll write another update here once ive gotten news Happy

Thanks for all the advice so far though, I will use it if its a returning problem.