Care for swords

[bidough]

Hello,
I have recently inherited a decent size group of swords from Japanese Samurais, Ottoman Shamsir, INdian bulova, and other assorted old military swords.
My question is, how do I care for these swords? Some have some tarnish on the blades and I would like to bring out the blade details on some.
Also, can I clean the scabbard with something that will not harm the materials? The Ottoman shamsir scabbard is quite detailed.

Will cleaning of the swords effect any value of them also?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

[Rick]

Pictures would help in evaluation of what methods to use . :)

[Rich]

Do NOT attempt to clean, polish or sharpen the Japanese swords, it
will ruin them and any value they may have. A light coating of non-acidic
machine oil is all that is needed. If they have rusted, etc, they need expert
professional restoration. Amateur cleaning / polishing will likely ruin them.
With most swords, unless you are a professional conservator, do nothing
but lightly oil the blades. The motto here is the same as in the medical field:
first, do no harm.

Rich S

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Richard Stein, PhD alchemyst@yahoo.com

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm
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[M.carter]

Hi,

First off, dont try to polish or sharpen anything. If they are old and valuable, any amateur sharpening/polishing job will likely destroy their value. If they are all gunked up, i suggest you get some WD40, some scotch-brite pads, and start scrubbing.

As Rick said, pics would help :)

[Yannis]

Taking care of swords is not so difficult as it sounds. Common sense is vital here. No acid, no hard tools, no violence exept you know exactly what to do. Different material need different aproach. Oil for steel and irron, wax for leather is the general idea.

I would love to see the shamsir :)