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Post by Machines on Jun 6, 2018 4:36:06 GMT
You'll notice I'm being pragmatic with the title. Always wanted a Patton sword and scored a 1918 LF&C after a $200 offer on eBay. My prize had a rusty blade, a very crusty handle, half-gone paint, and a lot of dirt. I'm guessing from the pommel's condition it had stood upright in a wet basement. Debated what to do, and eventually decided to refinish so the rust wouldn't eat it alive. I would've left well enough alone if it'd been in better shape. Anyway, at first I was happy to find good browning inside the guard under the paint...then I saw the outside had been brutally sanded down. Handle rust was even worse than I thought, too. Originally I was planning on re-browning, but the pommel screw had become one with the rust, so I went for a period-ish repaint job instead of risking taking the blade out.
Grips were cleaned out with a pick and washed. And the blade got some gentle steel wool and finished with a touch of polish--on the plus side it has almost no pitting and the original surface finish is visible; on the negative side it has a bunch of nicks from someone playing swashbuckler. I'll get some pics up tomorrow so I can be properly roasted.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Jun 6, 2018 16:08:52 GMT
Love to see pics! And good job on giving it the love it deserves.
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Post by Machines on Jun 7, 2018 6:14:40 GMT
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jun 7, 2018 9:16:34 GMT
Hey, you gave a relic some respect and got yourself a VG sword is return. The backstrap was pretty beat up. The black paint covers a lot of sins. Some more time with steel wool and oil will improve the lustre of the blade.
Paul Ward might still be lurking about. He's a demon on Patton repairs.
(PS That appears to be an original Rock Island Arsenal Washer on the blade. That's a plus. lol)
Congrats!
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Post by wlewisiii on Jun 7, 2018 13:19:07 GMT
Well done! Thank you for showing us your work - as a newby here, I'm especially thankful.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Jun 7, 2018 21:49:08 GMT
Thanks for sharing. You might follow Dave's suggestion with the steel wool & oil.
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Post by Machines on Jun 7, 2018 23:23:31 GMT
Thanks. I'd already steel wooled and Mother's mag polished the hell out of the blade when I took those pics. It looks shinier in person. Think I should keep going?
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Post by likehotbutter on Jun 8, 2018 3:03:48 GMT
Looks good
Ppl semprini about “restoring” been destructive but often, thats what the armoury storeman would have probably done as well
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Post by wlewisiii on Jun 8, 2018 4:14:19 GMT
Looks good Ppl semprini about “restoring” been destructive but often, thats what the armoury storeman would have probably done as well This. I was a unit armorer for a tank battalion in the US Army once upon a couple of lifetimes ago. I did what I had to do to keep the firearms of that company ready in case "The balloon went up" (as we called it) in 1983. I am sure some of the stuff I did to those 1911's & bayonets & etc we had would make collector's cringe. I don't give a semprini. I kept my soldiers ready to fight. That was all that mattered. Reality is a semprini sometimes.
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Post by Machines on Jun 8, 2018 4:51:25 GMT
I see that a lot in the gun world. Collectors go around looking for a "correct" Garand or 1903 or whatever with 100% matching marks and numbers, but a rifle someone carried in 1943 was likely a mixed bag of parts by the time his tour was up.
I'm not sure about the paint my Patton sword came with. Brushed-on black paint was correct for the interwar period, but mine had it applied over the worst of the rust and dirt. Dunno how one of these could have been in such bad shape by then.
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Post by wlewisiii on Jun 8, 2018 5:22:36 GMT
I see that a lot in the gun world. Collectors go around looking for a "correct" Garand or 1903 or whatever with 100% matching marks and numbers, but a rifle someone carried in 1943 was likely a mixed bag of parts by the time his tour was up. I'm not sure about the paint my Patton sword came with. Brushed-on black paint was correct for the interwar period, but mine had it applied over the worst of the rust and dirt. Dunno how one of these could have been in such bad shape by then. I saw some bayonets that came back from exercise utterly rusted up (and I KNOW they were good before going out that month) that I'd clean up properly. Now imagine an inspection suddenly coming that week? PAINT! Or whatever was quick and handy. I was just as guilty as too many others. If we had the time, and each weapon came in with normal standards, I'd inspect it and make the troops do thier duty. Sometimes, however, we didn't have time for the usual inspections. Shrug. Life is a semprini that way, sometimes.
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Post by wlewisiii on Jun 8, 2018 5:23:43 GMT
Oh, I had a M1 carbine once. Every real one is a mix master. Find one that is all the same marks? It's fake. Period.
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Post by likehotbutter on Jun 8, 2018 6:54:25 GMT
I was a unit armorer for a tank battalion in the US Army once upon a couple of lifetimes ago. I did what I had to do to keep the firearms of that company ready in case "The balloon went up" (as we called it) in 1983. I am sure some of the stuff I did to those 1911's & bayonets & etc we had would make collector's cringe. I don't give a Procreate. I kept my soldiers ready to fight. That was all that mattered. Reality is a semprini sometimes. indeed! i was in my country's military too, in the Armour no one gives a semprini about grind lines when you have the RQ breathing down your neck to have inventory ready for inspection!
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Jun 8, 2018 21:06:32 GMT
Very good job I'd say. Only one thing you might think about: I protect a new paint finish with 2 coats of clear lacquer of the satin kind while doing a little polish with fine steel wool in between to make them stick better. See the little job I did on the Italian Albertina scabbard. After a couple of days the lacquer will be rock hard and when polished with the finest grade steel wool and water or a drop of oil, it will take on a more antique sheen. This is not a negative comment of your work. That is excellent. Just a way to protect your investment of time and energy and the sword itself. New coats of black paint may chip off quite easely.
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Post by Machines on Jun 20, 2018 16:15:30 GMT
Thanks for the tip. Nice job on that one.
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