THE CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR WEAPON
The weapons crafted for you by Arms & Armor have all the characteristics of the original pieces they are replicating. Good care and use will keep your piece like new for many years and there is no reason you should not hand it down to generations to come.
The care and maintenance of these items needs to be authentic as well. The steel blades should not be stored in their leather sheaths. Leather holds moisture longer than the air around us, this moisture may condense on the blade when a change in temperature occurs. Any steel weapon should be stored in a dry area after a thorough oiling with a medium viscosity oil, such as most gun or sewing machine oils, 3 in 1 Oil, mineral oil or what we use, Zepreserve. If the piece is on display, it should be wiped down after any handling. Our skin oil has salts which are rather corrosive. They will leave rusty fingerprints within a few hours. Dust may allow oxygen to penetrate the oil to the steel and thereby corrode your weapon, so a periodic dusting and re-oil is a good idea. Please choose a wipe on oil, as many spray-on oils will evaporate quickly. As with any collection, regular maintenance will help to ensure that your weapon remains at its best.
If the item is to be displayed for long periods of time and not touched we would recommend a paste wax finish be applied to the steel components. Renaissance wax is a great product and most paste wax for cars will work as well. The key is to allow no oxygen to get to the metal and start corrosion.
Use a grey Scotchbrite pad or 0000 steel wool for cleaning. To preserve the finish of the blade make sure to wipe in a single direction along the blade towards the point in even strokes. Do not scrub across the blade or towards the hilt.
Leather scabbards may be treated with neatsfoot, mink oil, or any good quality leather cleaner/preservative. Leather grips should be allowed to age naturally. Wire wrapped grips should stay clean with a minimum of use. It is only when they are exposed to moisture and left to sit that they may develop rust.
Your weapon will be sharpened, if appropriate to that item, with the same type of grind on the cutting edge as the originals carried. This is based on examples of each type of weapon that have survived to today. The exception being pieces requested as "rebated," or stage edged. Swords, daggers, and especially heavy axes will have a thicker convex edge, when compared to a modern kitchen or hunting knife. This allowed the edges to take more abuse before chipping or breaking, while still having a sharp edge.
For stubborn marks or the start of corrosion (often faint dark or black marks) use a rubberized abrasive like Cratex sticks, always start with the finest grade and work back till cleaned then polish back through the grits.
If you get nicks or burs a very fine file can be used to knock down the edges, but take care to not mar the surface of the blade just hit the burs.
One should not use a sword against hard objects such as trees or concrete. While this might look good in the movies (prop departments and special effects units use many tricks to enhance the storyline), it would destroy any real sword no matter what it is made of or how it was made. These were tools that evolved over thousands of years with one basic purpose, and though gruesome, that purpose was to inflict harm on ones opponent. They were not designed to (or ever could for that matter) hack down a forest or cleave an anvil in half.
If you have any questions about your weapon please contact us and we will try our best to answer all your needs. 612-331-6473 or aa@arms-n-armor.com
You can also find this info direct from the menu at the bottom of our webpage.