[Ralph Grinly]

We've all seen it in movies and in pictures...swords dripping blood from hilt to point. ( see the "Celebrities with Swords' thread ) My question is. - if someone maintains their sword in fighting condition, eg, reasonably oiled/cleaned - WILL blood cover the blade ? I can imagine drips/drops of blood on a blade after combat but the blade *covered* in blood ? Your thoughts ?? and I won't enquire HOW anyone produces an answer

[Eric Allen]

One of the best folks to answer this question may be a hunter or such who dresses their own kills, or a farmer who slaughters their own hogs.
From what I've been able to gather, blood does get on the blade, but not "cover" the blade.

Blood is mostly water with some proteins in it. When spilled on a hydrophobic surface like metal, it beads up and forms droplets. These droplets can be smeared around to form a thin film. The most it would look like is some orangeish-red staining. You might be able to simulate the look with some red-dyed water.

But a even or thick coating to the point of dripping off the blade? No.
In movies and photoshoots, the "blood" is often times a very oily substance (corn syrup is common). It is very sticky and tends to coat. Real blood acts nothing like stage blood.

Stage blood is so ubiquitous that it was surprisingly difficult for me to find legitimate pictures of blood on metal surfaces. I ended up in the forensic medicine areas of the internets. I will not link to any pictures--they're not for the squeamish. I made it through human gross anatomy back in grad school, so I was mentally prepared for what I knew I would find. Let's just say that blood does stick to the blade, but does not pool on the blade, and most certainly does not coat the blade enough to run or drip. There can be enough blood to flick off, but we're talking little droplets, not oodles of gore.

[Justin H. Núñez]

Yep, I second that. When we slaughter an animal, goats mostly a few cows here and there, the blood does not really stick to the blade. What there is are mostly droplets. It is interesting how much technique can make up for an un-razor sharp edge though.