Sword Care

Lux

As a brand new sword owner, I'm wondering if anyone knows the basics of maintaining it are. Things like shining, sharpening, etc. It's really a sword. Sharp, 440 stainless steel, really heavy. Is there anything more to it than wiping it every once in a while?

I realize these are not meant to be played with, but sometimes there are these really thin, low hanging branches and no one around. So sometimes they get a little worn.

Aoi Tsuki

First off, congrats. I have two katana myself, one a cheap piece of crap used for decoration and one nice reverse-blade--what kind is yours? (The heaviest sword I've ever handled was probably a replica of Aragorn's Sword of the King, though claymores are pretty goddamn dense, too.)

This site has some awesome general advice. Drop by your nearest Scharffer's or knife shop for some more specific tips, but I'd especially pay attention to the safety issues. As badass as the thrill of destruction of little branches or, say, my collection of Mountain Dew cans will give you, you're still playing with a big damn weapon. Not only will it fuck up your blade, you can seriously hurt yourself or someone else/thing in the vicinity with just a moment's slip or loss of balance. When you show it off to people, make sure they stay out of range, and don't fence with it. G'luck (and show us some pics).

ElectricTurtle

Have you ever seen a pair of well-worn hedge clippers or pruning shears? Do you want your sword to look like that? If not, DO NOT CUT PLANTS WITH IT. I learned that the hard way when I was a dumb kid with my first sword (which luckily was a cheap piece of crap that I don't feel too much guilt for destroying).

If you need to cut something, do the traditional thing and get some tatami mats and practice tameshigiri. They don't cut easily, some have compared it to severing a leg, arm, or neck, so it will take practice. (It will also be harder if you do not have a quality sword that is well balanced and actually intended for combat as opposed to being a wall ornament.)

Fallout

Yeah, seriously, if you don't want it to get all fucked up, don't cut plants with it. I've taken apart a couple of bushes with my khukuri and to this day I can see the effects of it.

Sarcastro

ECHO=ON for the plant killing, that's what machetes are for. Tatami mats are awesome. For basic care, it depends if your planning to have a real edge or a manufactured edge, not that there a lot of difference in the edges, but some cheaper blades are given a factory edge with a light mettalic coat to make them seem shinier. This can be chipped and damaged if you try to give a showblade an actual edge.

So if its a real sword, than a real edge should be fine. Oil it every once in a while, and take it out to breathe at least every week or so. Congratulations on your fine aquisition.

Steel Angel

Lux wrote: »

As a brand new sword owner, I'm wondering if anyone knows the basics of maintaining it are. Things like shining, sharpening, etc. It's really a sword. Sharp, 440 stainless steel, really heavy. Is there anything more to it than wiping it every once in a while?

I realize these are not meant to be played with, but sometimes there are these really thin, low hanging branches and no one around. So sometimes they get a little worn.

440 stainless means it's basically meant to be a wall hanger decorative piece unless it was made by a swordsmith that really knows how to heat treat it properly. Given that you said it was heavy, I doubt it's the latter case. If you want to sharpen it, it will be pretty easy to sharpen compared to most steels normally used in knives and swords but it won't keep that edge very long if you use it. It also will be very rust resistant unless you live in really humid places or near salt water.

To keep it shiny, you can pick up some metal polish. I personally use Flitz paste to polish and protect my knives (official page at www.flitz.com).

To help keep it free from corrosion, you can use various lubricants you find at tool and guns shops or you can use a mineral spirits based protectant like Tuf-Cloth (http://www.sentrysolutions.com/AllProductskew.shtml). I prefer the latter on blades since it doesn't build attract dirt the way oils can and you don't really need the lubrication that oils give you.

Sharpening wise, you could pick up various bench stones and the like that are normally used for knives. There's a wide variety of stones for this, I'd do a search on knife sharpening and read up. As I said though, swords made out of 440 steel aren't really meant to be used (carbon steel or some of the higher end stainless like s30v designed specifically for blades are what get used in non-purely decorative swords. Knives can use 440 due to different physics involved though I still prefer other steels) so I'm not sure I'd worry too much about this.

I've normally bought this stuff online so I'm not sure what stores would carry them though I'd try hardware and outdoor stores. If there are any shops that specifically deal with knives, that would be the best bet but those aren't so common.