The Italian M1860. Message from the Work Floor.
Nov 30, 2019 16:19:44 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Nov 30, 2019 16:19:44 GMT
So I am working on my M1860 and M1834 sabres.
While doing some polishing of the pommel cap on the '60 I notice the dome is out of whack.
It has been turned about 20 degrees from true. WTF? Never noticed that before. Looking more closely I see that the dome functions as a nut. Just in time because next on the to-do list is working on the inside of the basket which is hell because you cannot get in there.
How Uhlan got it done.
Place the sabre in the vise with the basket resting on the claws so you have the sabre at the thicker end and as close to the tang as possible.
Clean the dome with acetone really well.
Get some sticky stuff. I used sculptors wax, but PlayDo or chewing gum might work too.
Make a little roll of said sticky stuff and make a nice wall around the end of the tang on top of the dome. I made a circular wall of about 4 mm high and 10 mm across.
It looks like a little crater now with the tang end on the bottom.
Fill the crater with penetrating oil and leave the sabre for the night.
Next day you'll see the oil is gone down into the threaded end of the tang.
Take a small piece of leather and some pliers and turn the dome off. Go gently, as you don't want the tang to break. My dome came off quite easy.
Here are images of what I found.
At about 1.5 turns.
With the dome gone you can remove the hilt in one go.
Remnants of a very high polish still visible on the tang.
The threaded end is 7 mm thick.
The blade shoulders.
Yoh beefy tang! 9 x 15.5 x 8 mm.
C.A.D. made the blade as subcontractor for Hartkopf who got the contract from the Italians.
The parts that make the hilt. The raw steel sheet of the knuckle bow lip is 3 mm thick.
The pommel cap is really heavy. The part from the knuckle bow slit up to the top of the flange is solid steel.
The ferule with its notch. The notch fits into the front of the guard plate.
Like so. That grip will not wobble.
The under side of the grip and the ferule with the notch.
Another shot of the pommel cap to show how thick it is.
Also notice the inspectors stamp on the flange.
These stamps had the first letters of the inspectors name so it was easy to find out whether someone was fiddling the books (bribes!) and allowing for faulty stuff to get through.
There is no reason anymore for your M1860 to have this scruffy inner basket and also that missing washer* can now be replaced the original way, under the blade shoulders.
So, get to work you lazy b*ms!
Cheers.
*. Washers on the Italian '60 sabres were made from felt, not leather.
Colours most observed: Red and green, where red is the most common.
Never seen one with a leather washer.
While doing some polishing of the pommel cap on the '60 I notice the dome is out of whack.
It has been turned about 20 degrees from true. WTF? Never noticed that before. Looking more closely I see that the dome functions as a nut. Just in time because next on the to-do list is working on the inside of the basket which is hell because you cannot get in there.
How Uhlan got it done.
Place the sabre in the vise with the basket resting on the claws so you have the sabre at the thicker end and as close to the tang as possible.
Clean the dome with acetone really well.
Get some sticky stuff. I used sculptors wax, but PlayDo or chewing gum might work too.
Make a little roll of said sticky stuff and make a nice wall around the end of the tang on top of the dome. I made a circular wall of about 4 mm high and 10 mm across.
It looks like a little crater now with the tang end on the bottom.
Fill the crater with penetrating oil and leave the sabre for the night.
Next day you'll see the oil is gone down into the threaded end of the tang.
Take a small piece of leather and some pliers and turn the dome off. Go gently, as you don't want the tang to break. My dome came off quite easy.
Here are images of what I found.
At about 1.5 turns.
With the dome gone you can remove the hilt in one go.
Remnants of a very high polish still visible on the tang.
The threaded end is 7 mm thick.
The blade shoulders.
Yoh beefy tang! 9 x 15.5 x 8 mm.
C.A.D. made the blade as subcontractor for Hartkopf who got the contract from the Italians.
The parts that make the hilt. The raw steel sheet of the knuckle bow lip is 3 mm thick.
The pommel cap is really heavy. The part from the knuckle bow slit up to the top of the flange is solid steel.
The ferule with its notch. The notch fits into the front of the guard plate.
Like so. That grip will not wobble.
The under side of the grip and the ferule with the notch.
Another shot of the pommel cap to show how thick it is.
Also notice the inspectors stamp on the flange.
These stamps had the first letters of the inspectors name so it was easy to find out whether someone was fiddling the books (bribes!) and allowing for faulty stuff to get through.
There is no reason anymore for your M1860 to have this scruffy inner basket and also that missing washer* can now be replaced the original way, under the blade shoulders.
So, get to work you lazy b*ms!
Cheers.
*. Washers on the Italian '60 sabres were made from felt, not leather.
Colours most observed: Red and green, where red is the most common.
Never seen one with a leather washer.