Persian,Indian Dagger ????

Norman McCormick · 20th April 2008, 10:49 PM

Hi Guys,
Many thanks for your interest and replies, as you can see there is quite a bit of blackened rust on the grip and scabbard, should I attempt to clean some of this off and if so any suggestions as to a suitable method which would preserve the integrity of the piece or should I leave well alone and accept it as part of the aging process. I suspect there may be a divergence of opinion on this as this predicament surely faces us all at some point in time with various bits and pieces in our collections i.e. to clean or not to clean and when does a tidy up become a restoration?
Regards,
Norman.

ALEX · 22nd April 2008, 07:50 PM

Norman, when I have an item with similar blackened spots, and especially when I can see some traces of coftgari, I apply a heavy coat of regular oil (like engine oil or WD40) all over it, and keep it soaked in oil for a while. Then I use soft cotton to gently wipe off the oil (no heavy scrubbing though!). The goal is to remove oxidation and dirt deposits to reveal any coftgari which may be "hidden" under. In your case I'd do the same: just put some oil and gently wipe it off using clean parts of soft cotton until you stop seeing dirty marks on it. and this is as far as I'd go, i.e. any further scrubbing and/or cleaning attempts will only make it worse and potentially create more "damage".

Norman McCormick · 22nd April 2008, 09:53 PM

Alex, many thanks for the advice, will go cautiously and see how I get on.
Regards,
Norman.

20th April 2008, 10:49 PM	#1
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,632	Hi Guys, Many thanks for your interest and replies, as you can see there is quite a bit of blackened rust on the grip and scabbard, should I attempt to clean some of this off and if so any suggestions as to a suitable method which would preserve the integrity of the piece or should I leave well alone and accept it as part of the aging process. I suspect there may be a divergence of opinion on this as this predicament surely faces us all at some point in time with various bits and pieces in our collections i.e. to clean or not to clean and when does a tidy up become a restoration? Regards, Norman.

22nd April 2008, 07:50 PM	#2
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	Norman, when I have an item with similar blackened spots, and especially when I can see some traces of coftgari, I apply a heavy coat of regular oil (like engine oil or WD40) all over it, and keep it soaked in oil for a while. Then I use soft cotton to gently wipe off the oil (no heavy scrubbing though!). The goal is to remove oxidation and dirt deposits to reveal any coftgari which may be "hidden" under. In your case I'd do the same: just put some oil and gently wipe it off using clean parts of soft cotton until you stop seeing dirty marks on it. and this is as far as I'd go, i.e. any further scrubbing and/or cleaning attempts will only make it worse and potentially create more "damage".

22nd April 2008, 09:53 PM	#3
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,632	Alex, many thanks for the advice, will go cautiously and see how I get on. Regards, Norman.