Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Sept 25, 2015 16:24:16 GMT
This gives me a feeling of great satisfaction, like after a very nice dinner in good company. Black snot and raw throat be damned. Subject: Heavely corroded steel scabbard. Method: Draw filing with big brute file, length wise. Draw filing with small diamond file to get the scratches of previous filing and remaining deepest pits out, also length wise. Sanding over the short side with nr 40 on a small hard block. Removal of the scratches from the previous filing that escaped, with diamond file over the short side. Sanding with nr 40 again. This is the stage where I took the picture. Once this stage is reached it is polishing time. The tricky part is to keep the old profile intact. No flat spots allowed. This is why a scabbard like this takes me a week to do, at 4 hours a day.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Sept 25, 2015 16:34:24 GMT
Hey Meester! I give ju twenty bucks ju feex my scabbard fo mee...?
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Sept 25, 2015 17:27:42 GMT
8-)
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Post by Dave Kelly on Sept 26, 2015 14:36:11 GMT
(rofl)
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 7, 2015 16:36:11 GMT
I hope to finish the scabbard tomorrow. It is now at the pre polish state. File scratches are removed. 99% of the pits are out. There still are some left, but I dear not go any further. The amount of steel I had to remove is astonishing as it is and going the whole hog would compromise structural integrity. Areas that are of particular concern are the sides, where the material was bend under stress and at the seam. The brazed seam is one of the weaker points, so taking out very deep pits there is a nono. The scabbard furniture I keep for last. All in all the results are pleasing and it looks much better already. Tomorrow is my day off, so I can polish away for hours in a state of total focus or derangement as some may call those Zen like moments, not bothered by wives, kids,shaving, washing and other niceties of Western culture. Just coffee and cigarettes please. And polishing paper. And rain on the roof.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Oct 7, 2015 21:44:35 GMT
Woof! Lot of elbow grease. Looks wonderful.
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 11, 2015 13:53:16 GMT
Did I say Thursday? Forget it. I finished today, Sunday 11-10-2015. Two weeks of hard work, but the result looks good. It looked a lot like this one: However, where this Dragoon scabbard has lots of more easely to remove surface rust, the M1822/74 had litteraly thousands of pits, which is way worse. Luckely the sabre is 100%. The original polish is tip top and it just needed some degreasing, cleaning and waxing. Another thing: this scabbard started rusting again in between sessions. There is something in the steel mix that is very rust prone and I have never noticed that before with French scabbards. I coated it in Ren Wax and will keep my sights on it. If the Ren Wax does not hold up, I will have to lacquer it. For now though I am plenty satisfied with the result. This scabbard has got a new lease on life. Cheers.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Oct 11, 2015 14:04:13 GMT
I must say the end result looks stunning. That's a lot of work you had to put into it but the result is very good looking.
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 11, 2015 14:14:37 GMT
Thanks Jussie. It was worth it. The picture is not very good, but the scabbard is high gloss again and saved from the bin.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Oct 11, 2015 14:48:52 GMT
You did yourself proud on that one. Congratulations.
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 11, 2015 15:36:59 GMT
Thank you PG.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Oct 11, 2015 16:42:09 GMT
Hay mann, geez, ju are very goooode, meebe I gif ju twennee fiv dollar ju do my scabbard, heh?
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Post by StevenJ on Oct 11, 2015 16:53:40 GMT
That does look very good.
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 11, 2015 16:57:51 GMT
Again, I have to refer you to the Oscar worthy and most excellent ,,How to turn certain sabre collectors into hamburger'' video above. This is not aimed at you Steven, but at Mr. Kelly. Thank you very much for your compliment.
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Post by aronk on Oct 11, 2015 20:55:32 GMT
Very impressive Ulahn. What do you recommend for cleaning up a Mle 1822 LC scabbard with (inactive) surface rust and no pits? I'd like to clean mine up a bit to match the condition of the sabre. I don't want to do anything particularly drastic because the scabbard has a serial that matches the one on the sabre, and I don't want to lose that. Alternatively, in the words of Dave: "I gif ju twennee fiv dollar ju do my scabbard, heh?"
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Post by Dave Kelly on Oct 11, 2015 22:35:15 GMT
Very impressive Ulahn. What do you recommend for cleaning up a Mle 1822 LC scabbard with (inactive) surface rust and no pits? I'd like to clean mine up a bit to match the condition of the sabre. I don't want to do anything particularly drastic because the scabbard has a serial that matches the one on the sabre, and I don't want to lose that. Alternatively, in the words of Dave: "I gif ju twennee fiv dollar ju do my scabbard, heh?" Careful now! He's serious about that wood chipper, ya know. (rofl)
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Uhlan
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Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Oct 11, 2015 22:45:46 GMT
Thanks for the compliment aronk. I think I would start with steelwool of middle coarsness and see what happens. Depending on the result you could either work your way up to fine and 0000, or if you must go down a bit to 120 wet paper or 240 and work your way up again. Do not jump in with 40 or 80 grid. Fiddle aroung a bit and see what works. For little scratches from sanding I use that brown and grey 3M stuff, kinda like a little mat?, followed by fine and super fine steelwool with oil. Mothers for last. A bronze brush may work too and is easy on the punch marks. It will get them clear of crud, but may soften the crispness of the marks a little. I roll a strip of half or a third of a sheet of paper on a narrow, thin, flat stick. Something like 1.5x0.4x20 cm will do. Being narrow it will follow the curve easy. Also, because you have much control now, it is easy to work around the marks. What works very well is the rust remover from the firm that sells Ren Wax. One bottle will give you enough solution, about 20 ltr,just add water,to fill a PVC drainpipe of 10-11 cm thick with a length of about 110 cm. Glue a cap to one end and you have yourself a tank that will hold most sabres, scabbards and swords, even quite curvy ones like the M1822. The solution will last a long time. Just cover the tube with a plastic bag when not in use. I store mine in the bathroom, as a typical bachelor would. Ladies are not very enamoured of that idea, I believe. Well, they are ladies. Do I need to say more? When the scabbard is done after 1-2 days, depending on the amount of rust, put plastic gloves on and hold the item under the shower and scrub with an old spunge. A lot of black gunk will come off and you do not want that on your hands. Not that it is poisonous, but it is quite hard to get off. That is why I use the bathroom. Now you only have to clean up. This rust remover works like a charm, but is quite expensive. For that money you could get a lot of paper, but that will cost you much more time and energy too. I had to go the hard way because of the pitting. Here is the url of a Dutch firm selling the stuff, but just google Ren Wax and a firm in your neighbourhood will pop up: www.vankaathoven-tt.nl/shop/index.php?action=home&lang=ENIt realy works very well and is 100% safe. Well worth the money and it is a good long term investment for the conservation of a collection. If you have anything more you want to know, just PM me or ask here. Cheers. Ps: Dave, I have been thinking about the best way to go about the chipping thing. I think I want to start with the feet, so you last longer? Talk a little about the beauty of life an stuff? You know, Hombre to Hombre?
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Post by aronk on Oct 12, 2015 1:07:19 GMT
Thanks Ulahn, I'll look into that rust-removing solution. I should rather like the scabbard to match the near-mint condition of the blade. Attachments:
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Post by Dave Kelly on Oct 12, 2015 1:21:11 GMT
Hate to disappoint but the only way to do the job is to get a high capacity volumne chipper. Those little ones jam too easy. Makes for a lot of messy work with the jams and failure to pass larger bones. So no chit-chat Dr Lechter; either way it's pretty quick doins. Phhhhgggtttt! ;) Picreator Rennaissance Metal De-Corroder. Used it on my newly acquired 1822 HC Off St Cyr Graduation Presentation Sabre.
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Post by aronk on Oct 12, 2015 1:51:30 GMT
That is quite impressive Dave. Now I want an 1822 HC. How is the handling by comparison?
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