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Post by Reluctant Warrior on Aug 26, 2016 20:59:06 GMT
medieval* So, I've been a sword owner since 2014(an arming sword manufactured by Windlass that only has seen a small use(training drills)), yet I've always had trouble as far as maintenance is concerned, not so much with oiling and keeping rust off the blade(though I am hardly competent at keeping the blade from oxidizing), rather my struggles lie at removing rust and oxidation once its already appeared. I've only so far had any luck with sandpaper. I tend to use Peek metal polish and Renaissance Wax for oil. This is only an issue with the blade, guard and pommel. Thankfully the tang has not rusted at all, nor has anything come loose. I am just curious as to what efficient methods of removing oxidation and rust are.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 26, 2016 21:03:04 GMT
You've found it already: sandpaper.
If you're content to get rid of red rust, and leave black oxidation there, then a whole bunch of metal polishes will do the trick. Black oxidation will just sit there on top, and won't grow and eat into the steel like red rust will; it's safe to leave. Remove it if you want shiny unblemished steel.
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Post by Reluctant Warrior on Aug 26, 2016 21:53:26 GMT
I guess I was using the weakest grit as far as sandpaper goes then.
I'm going for an unblemished look for the blade, so I'll probably remove the oxidation as well.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 26, 2016 22:08:59 GMT
Use silicon carbide wet-and-dry. You shouldn't need to start with an extra coarse grit. Maybe 200 or 400 is a good starting grit?
Another option is chemical removal. Phosphoric acid, acidic fruit juice, etc. These will get rid of oxidation, but you'll want to polish the blade afterwards, which means going to the sandpaper anyway.
From your photos, if it was my sword, I wouldn't bother about removing it. But nothing wrong if you want to.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 27, 2016 14:18:08 GMT
Don't forget the oil when using sandpaper. As timo pointed out 200 or 400 grit to start. For me 220 unless I just want to do just a light polish. Most people tend to start with too fine paper. But don't forget to use the oil, any light oil will work. WD-40 is good. If you are dealing with just light surface rust #000 steel wool with WD-40.
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Aug 28, 2016 12:59:19 GMT
also wet aluminum foil will neutralize rust.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Aug 29, 2016 20:41:15 GMT
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stormmaster
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I like viking/migration era swords
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Post by stormmaster on Aug 30, 2016 3:05:00 GMT
i found this on the web and it was pretty impressive, not sure if it could be applied to swords, and u also need a 1000 watt laser soooooo there is that
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Aug 31, 2016 23:34:11 GMT
Oh gawd...lazers. So, I postulate a question. You have a highly polished blade....and a few rust areas that you take off with a laser. What kind of eye protection do you need? I mean really.....there's gonna be reflections allover the place, I'd call it a win if I didn't set the ceiling on fire... But DAMN I wanna try this.
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stormmaster
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I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stormmaster on Sept 1, 2016 0:00:04 GMT
Oh gawd...lazers. So, I postulate a question. You have a highly polished blade....and a few rust areas that you take off with a laser. What kind of eye protection do you need? I mean really.....there's gonna be reflections allover the place, I'd call it a win if I didn't set the ceiling on fire... But DAMN I wanna try this. cant wait for lasers to evolve into lightsaber form ohhhh baby.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Sept 1, 2016 0:41:59 GMT
You have a highly polished blade....and a few rust areas that you take off with a laser. What kind of eye protection do you need? I mean really.....there's gonna be reflections allover the place, I'd call it a win if I didn't set the ceiling on fire... The company shows operators just using fairly basic-looking protective glasses. Could be enough, if their wavelength is something that will be absorbed by the cornea (and therefore won't reach the retina). Then you only need to worry about burns to the skin (and cornea, if you didn't wear the glasses). Controlling the beam focussing can make sure that any reflections spread out very quickly. But they're using crazy power. 5W will burn through clothes, burn your skin, etc. Do really nasty things to your retina if you catch it in your eye. 100W, 1000W is a lot. (Assuming that's average beam power - if it's peak pulse power the average might not be very much. Or if it's wall-plug power, and they're using CO2 lasers, the beam power will be a lot lower (but still, 10W-100W is a lot). The company: www.p-laser.com/index.aspx
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stormmaster
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I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stormmaster on Sept 1, 2016 4:48:30 GMT
You have a highly polished blade....and a few rust areas that you take off with a laser. What kind of eye protection do you need? I mean really.....there's gonna be reflections allover the place, I'd call it a win if I didn't set the ceiling on fire... The company shows operators just using fairly basic-looking protective glasses. Could be enough, if their wavelength is something that will be absorbed by the cornea (and therefore won't reach the retina). Then you only need to worry about burns to the skin (and cornea, if you didn't wear the glasses). Controlling the beam focussing can make sure that any reflections spread out very quickly. But they're using crazy power. 5W will burn through clothes, burn your skin, etc. Do really nasty things to your retina if you catch it in your eye. 100W, 1000W is a lot. (Assuming that's average beam power - if it's peak pulse power the average might not be very much. Or if it's wall-plug power, and they're using CO2 lasers, the beam power will be a lot lower (but still, 10W-100W is a lot). The company: www.p-laser.com/index.aspxis it like when the ladies laser off the hair from their bodies? same principle? but like death ray version?
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Sept 1, 2016 5:14:10 GMT
Laser hair removal works on dark hair absorbing the laser more than pale skin. The heating from the absorption basically cooks the hair follicle. Light hair + dark skin = try a different method.
This laser cleaning works by the oxide layer (a strong absorber) heating up more than the metal underneath (a weaker absorber). As the oxide gets hot, it expands, which knocks it loose. Like the hair removal, it works on the different things absorbing different amounts of energy, and heating differently. That parts the same, but how the differential heating actually removes the oxides is different.
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Post by Cosmoline on Sept 5, 2016 18:55:25 GMT
I use Flitz polish on active rust. But those little grey blemishes don't hurt anything. I would be concerned about doing more damage to the steel by polishing them off.
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Post by hypurr on Dec 8, 2016 13:59:26 GMT
Big warning at the end about it making hardened steel brittle. I think I would pass on this for weapons. "While I have not concerned myself with it yet there is a chance that metal cleaned this way may be subject to hydrogen embrittlement. This can happen in many processes such as electroplating or welding. It should not be a problem unless you are cleaning hardened steel such as saw blades, knives, or chisels. If you are and you intend to use the item (rather than simply displaying it) you may want to try baking the part in an oven..."
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LeMal
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Post by LeMal on Dec 13, 2016 4:11:56 GMT
You've found it already: sandpaper. If you're content to get rid of red rust, and leave black oxidation there, then a whole bunch of metal polishes will do the trick. Black oxidation will just sit there on top, and won't grow and eat into the steel like red rust will; it's safe to leave. Remove it if you want shiny unblemished steel. I'll echo this. For the vast majority of my repros--even the "nice" ones like Albions etc.--I long ago just treated them like users and stopped being anal about looks. In fact, just as I've come to like rustic hilts and furniture or grip wraps (and always liked brushed or satin finishes over polished anyway) I kind of like the "character" a "non perfect" surface gives. (You should even see my poor l'il '03 Jeep Wrangler. ;) She'll hit a quarter million miles by New Years and shows having taken me all over the US. But I lover her precisely because she doesn't ask to be over-pampered.) Wet aluminum foil is great for cleaning off and converting most repros, especially since they're almost never corroded enough to have gotten pitted yet. Works like a charm if you can stand the look of the innocuous black oxide left behind.
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