removing clear varnish from a old blade

[gp]

Originally Posted by milandro

(why do people do this? )

in many collectors fields (like ancient coins, jewelry or other products from metal;either base metal or gold and silver of a lower degree; i.e. < 500 ) one does not clean the metal as is done with blank weapons by chemicals (other than vaseline, natural oils and the likes ) as it decreases the value considerably.
One lesson I learned when collecting blank weapons and a huge difference with regards to value and cleaning an item . Not talking about patina.

Specially metal which is easily vulnerable to oxidation like iron or zinc.
In that case, dirt is cleaned by using vaseline/ oil or wax and for protection transparent nailpolish or similar varnishes are used as they protect the metal and do not effect the value. Hence I think some use varnish as a kind of protection against oxidation...

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by gp

Hence I think some use varnish as a kind of protection against oxidation...

Yes, this will be the reason!

[milandro]

well, boiling hot water did the trick!

The blade was covered with probably very old nitrocellulose lacquer or even shellac. A collector friend from Austria suggested that I tried that before the chemical way (which I wasn't too keen to undertake) and lo and behold, it worked. It came loose and I removed the deposit with a brush and now the blade is waiting to go on its journey by being treated with Warangan (it is a Bali Kris) from a local expert. Another step will be finding a nice sheath or sarong for it but that is another bridge which I will have to cross in the future.

Thanks for everyone's contribution