|
Post by treeslicer on Dec 17, 2019 22:31:16 GMT
How are you able to tell if a sword was scarred in combat, in training, or by somebody's grandkids playing in the back yard 50+ years after the fact? Are the rust dimples from an enemy's blood in a pitched fight, a grisly remnant of a deplorable execution, or some derp who touched it without wiping it down? When a blemish is conserved rather than polished out (after many polishes around it), I'd doubt if it was from a silly accident. Clash marks of different kinds have terms for them, and don't usually affect value negatively. The very best is when a splinter of the opponent's sword is still stuck in the blade, which can increase value.
Puzzling out old rust from blood traces is more uncertain, but usually seems to be from lack of cleaning before being stuck back in the saya during WW II, and probably relates to executions. A lot of blades on the current market have their values depressed by damage of this sort.
That most blades dating to the Sengoku or before have been used in combat is simply a very safe assumption, no matter how good the current polish is.
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 18, 2019 0:43:09 GMT
sigh. so much for my hopes. i'm never gonna have enow knowledge to read the history of a sword. i'll probably just buy fakes anyway.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2019 3:13:06 GMT
It's your party and you can sigh if you want to, but it really isn't that hard to get a real sword, either modern made or antique.
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 18, 2019 5:02:45 GMT
i see no instruction guide on avoiding fake antiques.
|
|
|
Post by MOK on Dec 18, 2019 9:17:16 GMT
There's no trick to it, honestly, you just have to learn what real things do and don't look like. Same as with any other kind of antiques!
Also, when in doubt, ask around.
|
|
|
Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Dec 18, 2019 10:51:09 GMT
i'm not actually interested in reproductions. then, i watched a bunch of vids by peter johnsson. he went from metaphysical all the way to mystic. maybe i need a sword of his. does anyone have one? has anyone even touched one? are they the best swords on the planet?
I've held swords he designed for Albion. Absolutely beautiful swords, very nice handling. I will never own a medieval sword not made by Albion due to it. For sabres antiques are the way to go. Really, what about me if I ever get up and running again.
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 18, 2019 11:40:28 GMT
you guys always talk about service sharpened. this seems to be what i need, but how do you tell service sharpened from the sharpening i do?
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Dec 18, 2019 13:31:49 GMT
I don’t know of a locked in, iron glad definition to tell the difference. One could rather crudely home sharpen a military blade in his basement and let it pass as service sharpened. The US and most if not all of the European militaries did not issue sharpened swords for safety and economical reasons. Swords were only sharpened if the unit was to see action or based in a questionable region. At which point the regimental armourer went to work with a grinding wheel. The actual grind was depended on what the armourer felt fitting. There was no standard. Usually, but not always, the angle was rather steep in order to make the edge more robust, but it could have been not so steep of an angle for better cutting. Then as now there was argument as to what the best angle is. The edge was in most cases left with grinding marks. If you have ever been in the service you will have a pretty good idea of the outcome if you received a few hundred swords, given a hand cranked grinding wheel, and tasked with sharpening and the clock running. I have several photos somewhere of these grinding wheels and stacks of swords waiting or just completed. No time to search, sorry.
It was a common method in the old days to sharpen a blade using a grinding wheel, not just with the military. Some wheels had a method for wetting and others appear to be used dry. Sometimes these wheels were carried about the country side in a wagon and other times stationary in one’s business. I saw a modern version of that a few years back while waiting for a bus. The man was hand carrying the device but no manual cranking was involved. He had the wheel mounted to an electric motor and powered by a motorcycle battery. I did have a man come to my door with sharpening services. I didn’t need him but out of curiosity I gave him a small pair of pruning shears. He used a file and sandpaper (for wood and dry). Those would work although by no means the best tools. What was worse he didn’t know what he was doing and did everything wrong leaving them in worse shape than when I gave them to him. In fact they wouldn’t cut grass. I repaired his mess and am still using them today.
|
|
|
Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 18, 2019 15:09:53 GMT
I've held swords he designed for Albion. Absolutely beautiful swords, very nice handling. I will never own a medieval sword not made by Albion due to it. For sabres antiques are the way to go. Really, what about me if I ever get up and running again. One of your Elmslie falchions would be a nice addition to your axe and knife... Meant production. Oops! The Albion table was set up next to a table with cold steel and windlass on it.
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Dec 18, 2019 18:03:38 GMT
you guys always talk about service sharpened. this seems to be what i need, but how do you tell service sharpened from the sharpening i do? I stated earlier what service sharpening was. I will add to this to enlighten you more, specifically when buying a service sharpened sword, just a fact to be aware of. If it was it was service sharpened that could very well have happened 100 or more years ago and a lot could have happened since. To advertise service sharpen implies different things to different people. You are (were?) impressed by the sound. To say service sharpened says nothing of the present state other than having grind marks at the edge. It may still be sharp. I’ve heard Easton and others when talking about a specific sword remark from time to time that it’s still sharp. But to buy a sword that the seller states has been service sharpened does by no means mean that it’s still sharp. Normal carry in a steel scabbard is hard on the edge, not mention other causes, for example it could have later been dulled for garrison duty. Just something to be aware of.
|
|
|
Post by MOK on Dec 18, 2019 19:15:09 GMT
Basically, a sword being "service sharpened" just means that it was at some point called into actual wartime service, and sharpened for that purpose. (Which doesn't necessarily mean that it was used in combat, of course, just that it was in active service at a time and in a place where combat was potentially expected.)
In terms of what such a sharpening job would be like... really, it's just utilitarian. As long as you put a good cutting edge on the sword without worrying about pure aesthetics - just like you would with sharp tools - you're doing "service sharpening" right.
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 18, 2019 23:40:05 GMT
i'd very much love to have a sword that was in active service. there's at least a possibility that it was used in combat.
i've been watching some old documentaries on Japanese atrocities. i think i'll avoid their swords;
|
|
|
Post by Cosmoline on Dec 19, 2019 1:20:34 GMT
Provenance is extremely difficult to establish with that much certainty, and the swords that have it tend to be in museums. Even with firearms it's all but impossible to know where it was used.
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 19, 2019 3:10:21 GMT
i know where my 15-4 has been for the last 50 years. i guess people don't think swords are important enow to care,
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2019 17:52:58 GMT
i know where my 15-4 has been for the last 50 years. i guess people don't think swords are important enow to care, "Your Model 15-4 Combat Masterpiece was manufactured in 1980." "thank you, radagast, good to know. susieqz, Apr 17, 2016" "bob, i think revolvers are used in bulls eye less because of the rapid fire course. 5 shots in 10 seconds is easier with a pistol. nothing to do with accuracy. as a matter of fact , i'm moving into centerfire with my S&W model 15-4, built in 1980. benched, this beat up old gun will do 1'' . pretty good for centerfire, without paying thousands of dollars. susieqz, Sep 24, 2016"
|
|
|
Post by susieqz on Dec 26, 2019 18:45:38 GMT
i commend you on your research skills.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2019 18:53:23 GMT
It is what I do.
|
|