Antique Blades: Ulahn's - Pellius's Blade Cleaning Threads.

Been thinking to find a way to make the scabbard clean up a little easier for you.
Why not wedge it between your stomach and, for instance, a wall or anything that will hold it up and will not be pushed away by your body pressure.
The drag end rests on the plinth and the mouth end pushes against your stomach.
That way you WILL be able to use two hands. Put some bin liners on the floor for the dust?
I remember seeing this done by those p!ss poor 18th -19th century home workers on old engravings.

Sorry for the late reaction by the way.

Cheers.

September 17, 2020

Update


Slow going, but progressing

I've managed a few brief sessions over the last couple of weeks to work on cleaning the scabbard up a bit.  My time constraints have kept me from sharing the progress, though.  Honestly, there's not a lot to see at this point; no lines in the steel to sharpen or fine details to bring out.  Just slowly working on convincing diamond-hard pit monsters that homesteaded over a century ago to pull up stakes and leave the holler'.  And to take all their kin folk with 'em.



Uhlan was correct about holding the scabbard to work it.  Without a proper workbench (mine is currently spoken for by other projects), and a wife that views the entire endeavor with moderate disapproval - especially when it finds its way to the dining room table - my methodology has basically been to hold the scabbard with one hand and sand gently with the other.  The sandpaper roll works pretty well under these circumstances for small areas, but the going is very slow.  It seems that the low polish of the scabbard was infested with super-tenacious black patina that really got a good grip after being coated with the brown coating.  Since the sandpaper roll is, like the scabbard, convex at its working surface, it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to make progress; especially when using a number of different grits. 


The scabbard near the mouth looked like this right the way 'round

Having yet to find a suitable place in the dining room to brace the scabbard without risking harm to the floor, walls, furniture, or my hide should my wife happen by, I began cutting sandpaper into strips, holding it against the scabbard under my thumb, and then pulling it free with my other hand.  Slow going, but I could apply quite a bit of pressure.  The sandpaper fouls quickly anyway, so it was not as slow as one might imagine.

 

One small development that unexpectedly rewarded me was the discovery of the seem of the scabbard.  Not a lot to see, yet, but it was a nice smile generator.  


If you look close, you can see the yellow seem

And that's all I have for the moment.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Thanks, Uhlan. The world coming unglued is what emboldened me to take on this project. Perhaps somewhat ironically, it is also what has delayed progress for significant stretches of time. Regardless, I am indeed committed to finishing.

For quite reasonable but face-palmingly incorrect reasons, I thought the scabbard was the home stretch of the project. In the doing, it is quite a different undertaking than the saber. I’m learning as I go, slowly getting faster. As I develop a bit of experience, things seem to go more smoothly with more success. I’ll get there.
🙂

It just occured to me that in the situation at hand you may benefit by a study of the most excellent works of Sun Tsu?