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Tim Tezer
Location: San Francisco Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Thu 27 Jul, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject: Mail shirt storage |
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I was wondering if anyone has heard of storing a mail shirt in wood chips to prevent corrosion? Someone asked me about it, and I was stumped - never heard of using wood chips. I can understand that you can't really spray it with oil, because over the long term, the oil will pick up dust and foul the mail up into a disgusting mess. So I would think the best storage would be in an acid free box, or one made of a proper type of wood (such as walnut, which doesn't give off corrosive gasses), and keep the temperature and humidity under control.
Any thoughts on this?
Tim
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Thu 27 Jul, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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In regards to oil attracting dust and causing corrosion: we need to define what we mean by "long term". If you're in some kind of living history or re-enactment group, where you mail gets worn on even a semi-regular basis, oil will be fine. When we hear of oil attracting dust and thereby moisture, which causes corrosion, we're talking about a period of years or centuries. I assume you're not going to be hanging it in a cathedral for the next century or five.
I usually keep my mail oiled and stored in a cloth bag in a trunk. My old butted hauberk was stored in this fashion for about ten years without being touched, with no ill effects.
I've never heard or read of wood chips being used. Depending on the type of wood it might even have acidic properties which would cause rust. This is one reason why only certain types of wood are suitable for scabbard cores. I don't know what advantage wood chips would offer, other than acting as a primitive form of desicant that might keep moisture away from the mail. I'd be interested to hear of any historic reference for this method of storage.
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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Chuck Russell
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| Posted: Thu 27 Jul, 2006 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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i keep mine in a burlap sack on the office floor.
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Addison C. de Lisle
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| Posted: Thu 27 Jul, 2006 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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I've read somewhere about storage/polishing in barrels of sand, but that sounds like a pain to clean up after, not to mention lug around...
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Thu 27 Jul, 2006 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Addison C. de Lisle wrote: | | I've read somewhere about storage/polishing in barrels of sand, but that sounds like a pain to clean up after, not to mention lug around... |
I've used that method for cleaning and it is effective. A bit messy but not overly so. The biggest downside I've encountered is that grains of sand will work their way in between the joined ends of the rings and pop rivets loose. Not to a great degree, but it has happened everytime I've used the method for cleaning. I don't know if I'd actually store mail in sand or any other kind of medium. It may have been stored in barrels of sand, or whatever, back in the day. The process of transport might have caused aggitation which cleaned the mail. Not quite the same thing as putting it in a barrel of sand and leaving it in the garage. This is all speculation on my part.
Jesse Bailey of Conroi Fitz Ozbern has recommended purchasing an old gas drier to use as a tumbler. Apparently, tumbling the mail with a bunch of old towels as a medium cleans the mail up nicely. If I had the space to keep an old drier I'd try this myself.
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Dan Howard
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| Posted: Fri 28 Jul, 2006 4:34 am Post subject: |
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There are a few chemicals in wood chips that are likely to increase metal corrosion (acids, tannins, etc). Mail can be tumbled with wood shavings to help keep it clean (sand is too corrosive) but I wouldn't recommend storing it in contact with wood chips, shavings, sawdust, etc.
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This is a standard topic