Sword Care and Conservation.docx
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Sword Care and Conservation.docx
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SwordCareandConservation
SwordCareandConservation
∙CONSERVINGANTIQUESWORDSbyMarkMcMorrow
Publishedon05-01-201104:
41PM NumberofViews:
10238
Aswithallartsandantiques,avastdifferenceexistsbetweenswordconservationandswordrestoration.Restorationisthemethodbywhichanarticleisrepaired,mendedorrefittedtoresembleitsstatewhennew.Intheswordworldthiswouldincluderecoveringgrips,bladepolishingandrefittingguardparts.Asaverygeneralruleofthumb,ifaswordhastobedisassembledforthefix,itshouldbeconsideredarestoration.Anythingelseleavesusintherealmofconservation.Thisshorttreatiseisintendedtoservemerelyasaguideline.Eachconservationprojectwillbeuniqueandeverysituationyouwillencounterduringtheworkwillmeritcarefulevaluation.Itisalwaysagoodideatoseekprofessional,specialistguidancepriortobeginningwork.
Conservationistheeffortappliedtothearticlewherebyitispreserved&maintainedinitspresentantiquestateinadditiontotheapplicationoftechniquesthatareintendedtoarrestdegradation,removeharmfulcomponentsandinhibitthemfromre-establishing.
Itmaynotalwaysbephysicallyoreconomicallypossibleorevenpropertorestoreasword,butitisalwayspossibletoconserveasword.Inaddition,conservationistheleastobtrusiveinterventionmethodand,forreasonsofmaintaininghistoricalcontinuity,themostwidelyrecommended.
Duringasword’slifetime,itwillencounterforcesthatwillultimatelyaffectit'spresentcondition.Exposuretotheelements,theenvironmentinwhichithasbeenstored,abuseandneglectwilldeterminehowmuchworkyouareinfor.Itisimportanttorememberthattheobjectiveistopreservethepieceinitsantiquestate,notmakeitnewagain.Patination,orthemellowtoningmetalsacquireovertheyears,isanimportantcharacteristicandshouldnotberemovedoraltered.(Note:
thisisaproblemwhencleaning,asinalmostallcasessomepatinationwillberemovedthroughthecleaningprocess).Inaddition,trytoidentifytheswordorswordsyouintendtoconserve.Thechancesoffindingahistoricallysignificantswordareremote,butitiscertainlynotoutsideoftherealmofpossibility.Forthisreason,itisimportanttolearnaboutwhatyouhavebeforeattemptinganythingthatmayhaveadestructiveresult.
BLADETREATMENTS
Swordbladesarefoundrangingoverawidespectrumofqualityanddecorativeenhancement.Inordertohaveanunderstandingofwhatitisyouarelookingat,let’slookatsomeofthemostcommonlyencounteredbladetreatments,someofwhichdatefarbackintoantiquity.
*Bluing-Achemicaltreatmentdevelopedasarustinhibitor.Modernchemicalbluingisarelativelymodernprocessdatingfromthemid-19thcentury.Priortothattime,allbluingwasdoneviaheat.Thistypeofbluingisveryeasilyremoved,andshouldonlybecleanedbyaqualifiedprofessional).Browningisachievedbyasimilarprocess(intheolddays,itwasactuallyachievedbyanintentionalrusting).
*Plating-Platingistheapplicationofathinplateorcoatingofmetaltoanothersurface.Itisdoneeitherasaprotectivemeasureortoenhancethesurface’sestheticappearance.Moltendips,chemicalandelectrolyticareafewexamplesofplatingprocesses.Nickel,tin,silverandgoldarethecommonmediaofplatingyoumayexpecttoencounter.Regardlessoftheprocessandtypeofplating,itwillnotbemorethanafewmicronsthicksotheutmostcautionshouldbeexercisedwhendealingwithit.Platingisfoundonbladesandguards.
*Engraving-Engravingisthemechanicalprocessofremovingmetalinapatternordesign.Itisaccomplishedbyusingsharpcutterscalledburinsandawidevarietyofmotifsandpatternsareencountered.Engravingissometimesfoundwithinlayedmaterialsuchasgoldorsilverappliedintherecesses(seeinlayandniello).
*Inlay-Inlayistheprocessofornamentingasurfacebysettingintoitmaterialofdifferentsubstanceorcontrastingcolor,usuallyinsuchamannerastomaintainacontinuousplane.ItisafairlyuncommonWesternbladetreatment,thoughcommontoIslamicandIndo-Persianarms.Softer-than-steelmetals(copper,brass,silverandgold)arethosemostcommonlyused.Alsofoundisaspecialinlaypreparationcalledniello.Inthisprocessametallicalloyofsulfur,copper,silver,andusuallyleadareusedasaninlayonengravedmetal.Themetalsurfaceisbrushedwithaboraxfluxsolutionanddustedwithpowderedniello.Theentiresurfaceisthenheated.Asitisheated,thenielloblackens.Aftercooling,thesurfaceisthenpolishedandtheblackenedniellopatternremainsintheincisedlines.Inlayisfoundonbladesandguards.
*AcidEtching-Acidetchingistheprocesswherebyanacid-resistantwaxcoatingisappliedandthedesireddesignmotifisappliedandscribedthroughthecoating.Anacidpreparationisappliedtothesurfaceoftheblade.Thebladeareawherethewaxisuntouchedisprotectedfromtheacid.Atthesametimetheacidsettlesinthescribeddesignareas,whichoffersnoprotectionagainstthechemicalactionoftheacid.Aftersufficienttimepasses,theacidisneutralizedandtheremainingwaxremoved.Theresultingdesignsareprominent.Theoppositeofthisprocessiscalledacid-resist,whichisapplyingthedesiredpatterninwaxandallowingthebackgroundareastobeexposedtotheacid.
BLADEPROBLEMS
Antiqueswordsareevaluatedprimarilyonbladeconditionandtherearemanythingsthatcanimpactabladeovertime.Rustisthecardinalbaneofallswords.Itisanaturalprocessanditisobservedoccurringintwobasicstages,activeandinactive.Inthefirststage,rustbeginstoformonthesurfaceofthesteelwhenexposedtoairandmoisture.Thisistheactivestageandtherustappearsredorreddishbrownandwillleaveareddishresidueonwhateveritcomesincontactwith(hands,clothing,etc.).Consistingchieflyofferrichydroxideandferricoxideformedbyoxidation(thereactioninwhichoxygencombineswithanotherelement),rustisessentiallyachemicalcompound(hydratedferricoxideFe2O3·nH2O).Onceactiverustestablishesitself,degradationandmaterialattritionwilloccuratarateconsistentwiththeambientenvironment.Ifleftuncheckeditwilleventuallyerodethesteel,meaningthatanactuallossofphysicalmasswillresult.Thedegreeofaffectcanrangefromlight"salt&pepper"pittingtocompletesurfaceencrustation.Inthecaseofthelatter,theonceuniformgeometryofthebladewillbecomeirregularandunattractive.Eventually,theactiverustwillprogresstothesecondorinactivestageanditisatthistimethatdegradationwillcease.Inactiverustappearsverydarkbrowntoblack.Forgede-laminationshouldnotbemistakenfortheaffectsofrustordamage,thoughde-laminationmaybecomepronouncedasaresultofanimpactthatnormallywouldnothaveproducedtheflawinacongruousforging.De-laminationsappearasfissure-likecracksandcanbeattributedtoinconsistenciesintheforgingprocessorstructuraldefectsthatmaynothavebeenvisiblewhennew,butthroughthepassageoftimehavebecomeapparentastheweakenedmolecularelementsmigratetodislocationpoints.It’sinterestingtonotethat,unlikeJapaneseswordcollectors,manystudentsofWesternswordsregardforgede-laminationasacharacteristicratherthanaflaw.Itisnormallyseenasthehallmarkofanoldbladeanditoftenaddstothecharacterofasword.
Battledamageisalsoencountered,butshouldnotbeconfusedwithabuse.Nosetrulesexistformeasuringwhatisandwhatisnotbattledamage.Onehastoacquireafeelforitthroughyearsofhandsonobservationofoldswords.However,afewsimplecommonsensepointscanbeapplied.Asanexample,afairpercentageofwhatweencountertodayintheformofedgedamagecanbeattributedtoabuse.Itisidentifiableasaninordinatenumberofedge-to-edgecontactnicks.Oneortwoedgenicks,especiallythosethathaveacquiredpatinationthatmatchestherestofthebladesurface,maybewrittenofftoperiodbattledamage.Alargenumberofnicks,especiallythosethatappeartohavebeencausedbythesameopposingblade,cansafelybelabeledabuse.Bentbladesalsofrequentlyencountered.Althoughit’sreasonabletoassumethebladecouldhavebeenbentintheheatofbattle,oddsareitwasbentasaresultofmistreatment.Alsounderthisheadingarepost-periodsharpeningattempts,amateurpolishingefforts,chemicalexposure,andfile,grind,sandpaperandpowertoolmarring.
BLADECONSERVATIONTIPS
Allofthebladetreatmentsdescribedaboveshouldbeapproachedwithamaximumofcautionandaminimumofforce.Overzealousnesscanresultinirreparabledamage.
Beforebeginningworkonthesword,itshouldbesecuredtoyourworksurface.Thiswillprovidestabilityduringworkwhileallowingyoutomaintaintheuseoftwohands.Awoodenviseisthebestchoiceforthistypeofworkbutothertableclampsorbenchviceswillbefine.Ifyouintendtouseastandardvise,somemodificationoftheretainingjawsontheclamporvicewillbenecessaryinordertoavoidmarringanysurfaces.Glue½-inchthickstripsofleatherinplaceonthejaw’sgrippingsurfaces.Leadstripsof¼-inchthicknessmayalsobeused,butleatherworksjustaswellandwilllikelybemorereadilyavailable.Anotheroptionwouldbetousealligatorclips(withrubber-paddedjaws)tosecurethebladetoyourworksurface.Alsoremembertocoveryourworksurfacewithseverallayersofnewspaper.Thiswillfurtherprotecttheswordandkeepthebenchareaclean.Oncetheswordissecured(t
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