Cleaning a rusty khanjar without removing koftgari
 

I assume this is a Syrian Khanjar but correct me if I'm wrong. I'm also assuming the decorations are koftgari and that they were done with silver.

As you can see, it's very very rusty and I'd like to clean it up a bit but without removing any of the koftgari. Obviously any kind of abrasive cleaning is out, but would soaking it in something mildly acidic remove some rust without damaging the silver? So far I've been using flitz polish and it's helped a little. I know it's going to be impossible to remove all the rust, but I would like to make it a little less ugly.

Weirdly enough, both the scabbard and the blade seem to have been chrome plated! Whoever made it scratched off the chrome plating on the bits where they applied the koftgari. It must have looked pretty strange even when it was new.

Hi can you confirm that this is koftgari as it simply looks like an etched pattern scratched roughly into the surface... I mean I may be wrong... please check...
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

It does appear to be koftgari. Some of it is actually peeling up. It also has the tell tale crosshatching that the koftgari's applied to.

Edit: I should add that I'm obviously no expert on these things, but I do have a small Burmese Dao that has koftgari so I have handled the "real deal" before.

Cant say much about the restoration but yes this is Syrian with silver lines. You need to be careful as those easily peel off. Good luck!

Thanks. The back of the hilt and scabbard only have a little koftgari on them, I'm going to try to clean that side by covering it with a tissue soaked in coca cola for a few hours. I'll see if it damages the decorations before I try it on the front.

Ok soapy water only and a soft brush.....coke is acidic. Use at your own peril... :) Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Thank you. It sounds like there's no way to aggressively remove the rust without damaging the koftgari. I'll just have to settle for stabilizing the active rust and then leave it be.

Out of curiosity, what's the current status of the khanjar in Syria? I've seen a lot of weird modern looking touresty khanjars up for auction out of there recently. Do the locals still wear them or do they only produce them for tourists?

I have no idea..Going to Syria is an outing consisting of some danger..The styles of Omani artefact and Syrian are remarkably similar across a broad spectrum...oddly though not in bladed weapons as each is distinct. What is clear however is that the destruction of Forts and antiquities is of a very serious proportion and even Crac de Chevaliers has come under bombardment. Ancient souks have been wiped off the map...There will be nothing left soon...Tourists? Are you joking? There's a war on... there are none.

Fair point. Rather than "currently" I should have said "recently" as in the last 5-10 years. I'm just wondering if it was/is a live tradition over there.

I had some success using scrunched up aluminium foil as a scrub.... harder than soft rust but softer than silver. Usual caveat though, go gently and stop if you see the koftgari lifting.