[Ciaran Daly]

Hi guys. I just received my Talhoffer by UPS today. I bought it second hand and although the seller mentioned in his "for sale" notice that it had only ever been oiled and displayed, I was a little surprised and dismayed to find a cluster of obvious scratches & rust beneath the maker's mark and some scoring along the edge by the tip. What would be the best approach to removing these without damaging the sword's finish or creating ugly inconsistencies etc.

Thanks for your consideration,

Ciaran Daly

[Peter Johnsson]

If the scrathces are deep, you might want to remove them with a fine emery paper. 600 or 800 grit will be abrasive, but not leave deep scratches themselves. Use oil as a lubricant. Only polish in the direction of the blade. concentrate on the area where the scratches are.
Finish with oil and grey scotch brite pad. This is the same that is used in the Albion workshop to get the final finish, so it will match perfectly.
Again, move the pad only along the blade, not across or with circular motions. Be careful to start and end each pass with a light hand.
Support emery paper and scotch brite pad with a handy wooden block that allows you to hold the abrasives and keep your fingers away from the edge.

If the scratches are light you might only need the scotch brite pad. You can start with the pad and see if it works.

Try to dissolve a bit of the rust with oil or similar before you start working.

Slow motions.

Be aware of the edge!

Try to keep the pad and the emery paper from polishing away the sharpness of the edge, or you will have to touch up on the sharpness afterwards with a fine stone. That is pretty easy to do, but you can avoid it if you work with focus and care.

Good luck!
Your sword will soon be as good as new, and have a little bit of you in it

[Ciaran Daly]

Thank you very much Peter! The scratches on the tip are not deep enough to be visible in all lights & all angles, but when they are visible they are very obvious. The ones by the hilt beneath the maker's mark are the ones you see right away. I'm glad I'll be refinishing the sword (hopefully) to Albion's standard.

On somewhat of an off-topic note, I have to say that running this sword through drills I feel like a beginning oenophile being handed a 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I feel very grateful that you are doing the work you're doing.

best regards,

Ciaran Daly