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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 13:26:33 GMT
Hello, just found the forum and joined. Great resources here. I am newish to swords... I was very into medieval arms & armor when I was a kid (25 years ago) and am now rekindling the interest and having to refamiliarize myself with terms, types, etc.
I have a few antique swords and a few replicas now. I am most interested in beat-up/heavily patinated stuff, which is lucky for my wallet when it comes to antiques!
When it comes to replicas, I am starting to experiment with vinegar, salt, and soil patina treatments using the antiquing article on MyArmoury. I recognize that some of you may find that distasteful, but patinated replicas really appeal to me, probably because I'm an archaeologist. I love the buried-for-years Raven stuff but could never afford it.
Anyway, hello everyone!
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AndiTheBarvarian
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Oct 28, 2017 13:33:21 GMT
Hello viece and welcome to the forum.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Oct 28, 2017 14:50:33 GMT
Welcome viece.
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Oct 28, 2017 15:28:00 GMT
Hey, Viece....Glad to have you! I'm a fellow Texan! I can't tell you how many 'false antique' blades I've made. (Never advertised or sold any as genuine though!) I use the salt and vinegar method as well. That, in conjunction with burying the blade makes a pretty good 'archaeological find' after some restoration and conservation. I'll look forward to your posts in the future! .....Chris
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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 16:32:43 GMT
Hey, Viece....Glad to have you! I'm a fellow Texan! I can't tell you how many 'false antique' blades I've made. (Never advertised or sold any as genuine though!) I use the salt and vinegar method as well. That, in conjunction with burying the blade makes a pretty good 'archaeological find' after some restoration and conservation. I'll look forward to your posts in the future! .....Chris Thanks all! I am working on a Napoleonic replica cutlass right now. 3 days of salt and vinegar spray first, now 2 days marinating in some slightly acidic soil. I'll post pics of the setup at some point. Chris, do you know if there's any distributor of $200-300 sword brands (CAS, Windlass, etc) with a store in Texas (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio) where you can try out the feel of different blades? I know in the Austin area there's Therion Arms, but he doesn't have a brick and mortar store, just online sales (although it must be said, he seems great, from the limited correspondence I've had). I keep falling in love with various affordable swords based on online photos and descriptions, then finding reviews that say disappointing, fragile, too heavy, etc. I travel all over TX and Oklahoma for work and would like to wave some examples around before I buy.
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Post by RickDastardly on Oct 28, 2017 16:52:50 GMT
Welcome Viece!
Have you heard of using mustard for a patina? It's common in the knife world (where I come from).
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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 17:14:14 GMT
Welcome Viece! Have you heard of using mustard for a patina? It's common in the knife world (where I come from). Rick- Thanks! I have heard about mustard but have not tried. Also lemon juice. In your opinion, which method is best for an even, dark gray, finely pitted look? I have a (real) Civil War era Ames light cavalry saber that has this beautiful dark gray color with fine peppery speckles, and that's what I'd like to mimic on a future project. With a coating of Ren Wax it looks great.
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Oct 28, 2017 17:41:41 GMT
Viece, I have no idea of any place in Texas to try out any decent swords. I don't travel much, so.... . 'Slightly acidic soil'? Yeah....I do that too. I pee on the 'grave' about every other day. .....Chris
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Oct 28, 2017 17:46:37 GMT
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christain
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Post by christain on Oct 28, 2017 17:58:42 GMT
He doesn't have an actual store...mail-order only.
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Oct 28, 2017 18:12:09 GMT
Welcome to the forum - I'm from DEEEP S. Texas (McAllen, in the RGV)
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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 18:14:56 GMT
Thanks, I do watch his site and he seems like a good guy but given the lack of a store, I don't want to impose, i.e. "can you meet me in the Walmart parking lot with 20 blades so I can swing them around and maybe buy 1?"
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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 18:17:49 GMT
Welcome to the forum - I'm from DEEEP S. Texas (McAllen, in the RGV) Hey, good to know! I work in McAllen, Pharr, Brownsville every few months. Was just down there enjoying the new Rabble Rouser brewery during a site visit; love what they're doing with Valley citrus...
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Post by viece on Oct 28, 2017 18:33:02 GMT
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Oct 28, 2017 19:11:12 GMT
Welcome to the forum - I'm from DEEEP S. Texas (McAllen, in the RGV) Hey, good to know! I work in McAllen, Pharr, Brownsville every few months. Was just down there enjoying the new Rabble Rouser brewery during a site visit; love what they're doing with Valley citrus... I also don’t have a physical store, but if you’re in the area and I’m not busy, we could meet up. You can find my online store by searching for LG Martial Arts
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Oct 28, 2017 22:07:04 GMT
Welcome, Viece! Nice to have another central Texan aboard.
As for brick-and-mortar stores, I don't know of any besides Sonny of Valiant Armory up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but his products are more in the 4-600$ range and are strictly medieval in style; it'd definitely be nice if there were a store in the roughly central Texas area (as in anywhere from Dallas to Austin) that had Windlass, Hanwei, and the like, especially if they had a trade-in system.
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Post by viece on Oct 29, 2017 2:48:56 GMT
All -
Thanks for the tips and welcomes. I will be sure to check out Valiant next time I'm in DFW.
Also, I don't know why the text didn't come through, but the pic above is of a Napoleonic cutlass I'm patinating. 3 days salt and vinegar, then 2 days in soil so far. Some interesting patterns coming together under the crust.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Oct 29, 2017 8:24:54 GMT
Welcome aboard!
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Post by demonskull on Oct 29, 2017 13:28:25 GMT
Hi and Welcome. Very few states have a decent brick and mortar sword store as the overhead makes operating one prohibitive. The only place I can feel real swords is our Renaissance Fair. This has it's pros and cons: Pros - you get to actually handle the sword and ask questions
Cons - typically the salespeople are merchants and are not very knowledgeable about the products or vendor (there is generally one or two that will have the answers but you may have to come back if they are not on site) The second negative is their prices are generally much higher than you can get on line The third negative is due to limited space, time of the event, nature of the event their product line is going to be very limited.
Please post some pictures of your projects when you get the opportunity
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Post by johnwalter on Oct 29, 2017 13:53:26 GMT
Welcome to the forum
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