how to get rust out of a scabbard ?
 

Hi folks!

Question: I just got a yataghan which had a little oxidation at the point .
Cleaned it carefully but as both the weapon and the scabbard (wood covered with leather and silverlike metal at both ends) was rather dried out, I did clean it and took care of the dry condition.
But still a reddish powder...rust comes out of the scabbard.
I carefully tipped it a little to get the majority out and have it now vertically standing in the hope the remaining or at least more comes out.
This before I put the blade back in and avoid rust "powder" contaminating the blade again....
Any tips or advice ?

GREAT question. I have several recent acquisitions that came with rusty blades inside of scabbards or sheaths. So, like you, I have rust inside sheath and I'm stumped how to get it out.

I have used a small bore (air) rifle cleaning rod on a couple of scabbards, and one of those "air duster" cans, as used on electrical equipment to blow loose stuff out.
I am just as interested as anyone else in tips and ideas.

I had a blade rusted secure into a scabbard. Finally just tapped the scabbard all over a lot to break up the connection and pulled out the blade. Continued tapping/vibration and shaking out the rust particles cleaned out a lot. Air duster like David said would clean other loose particles.

DavidR's idea above is a good one but also perhaps a suitable size bottle brush would do the job if attached to an extension so it reaches all the way to the bottom of the scabbard. The bristles of these are usually plastic of some sort so should not do damage to the inside of the scabbard. Most hardware stores have these brushes in various sizes.
Stu