Please do not oil any ferrous objects regularly! As a conservator with many years experience in the treatment of metals and historic arms I have spent untold hours mitigating the damage from the myth that you have to "feed" metal and wood objects with oil. Most organic oils contain fatty acids that cause corrosion and can cross link and darken and form a hard glossy surface that is very difficult to remove. All oils trap dust and this can make objects dirtier. The best thing is to leave the blade alone or after gentle cleaning to wax it with a micocrytalline wax such as renaissance wx and buff. The scabbards can range from all metal, to tinplate covered with leather, to a paper based board covered with leather. If the sword is properly mounted or housed in storage, keeping it in the scabbard should not be a problem. Actually the scabbard preserves the blade. I can usually tell which swords have been kept outside of a scabbard for a long time because they are the one's with extensive pitting and deterioration of the surface from dust. (dust can act like a sponge for moisture and pollutants in the air and form very aggresive corrosion cells and pits.)  



Cheers!

Dave



David Harvey

Conservator

Los Angeles, CA

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile



-----Original Message-----

From:         ". ." <[log in to unmask]>



Date:         Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:15:38 

To:[log in to unmask]

Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Sword display/storage





The scabbard is typically made of leather or another moisture asbording material.  Because of this, the sword will oxidize rapidly.  To properly preserve swords, they should be taken out of the scabbard for display.  They should also be oiled at least once every few months.
  
 Sincerely,
  
 Elizabeth Caldwell


> Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:40:49 -0400
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Sword display/storage
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> Hi,
> I am wondering what the best way to store and display a sword is. A
> visitor came into our museum over the weekend and said that having the
> swords in the scabords was not good. If this is the case, why?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Beau Harris
> 
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