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Post by blackjackjolly on Feb 21, 2024 21:34:24 GMT
I just got my Balaur Arms/LK Chen Templar sword from KoA (review forthcoming), and I noticed the weirdest thing: the leather on the grip (but not the scabbard) has this sweet, burnt-candy smell that I will always associate with a blown radiator. (If you've had the misfortune, you know the smell I mean.) It isn't BAD, and I have to get fairly close to it to notice. It's just...weird. I wonder if they were using ethylene glycol to clean up the glue or something. I'll make sure not to put it in my mouth, just in case. (The swords are already stored where the cats can't get to them...)
(I checked, and there's no such smell on my LK Chen Ribaldo.)
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Post by shinycanoe on Feb 21, 2024 22:59:50 GMT
I know the smell you are referring to. I had an Albion from KoA and a Cold Steel blade that had the same smell. It went away after I cleaned all the oil off, so I assumed it was related to what they put on the blades to keep them from rusting in transit and storage. But I have also had shields and bucklers packed in the same way that didn't have that smell, so maybe it was related to the leather.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 22, 2024 0:07:33 GMT
It's been years since I bought a new sword, but I can't say I remember any of them smelling any particular way, outside of fresh oil/grease. Probably something in the glue or other chemicals used.
An amusing thought has occurred to me, though. Book people will argue until the heat death of the universe over which smells better: New Books or Old Books. Personally, I like the smell of old books. My girlfriend will huff new books all day.
That said, I also liked the smells of my old swords, before I made the mistake of putting new oil on them. I especially liked how my hands smelled after handling them. I could sniff my antique swords all day, but the new(er) swords don't really have much of a scent.
Anyway...
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Post by larason2 on Feb 22, 2024 0:16:31 GMT
I love the smell of my hands after polishing with stones. Part is that some stones smell really good, part is there's a lot if the "good" steel smell on them too. Love the smell of leather on swords too, for some reason just smells better than a lot of the other leather products I have. Then there's choji oil, which just smells so good too. It's a good part of the hobby!
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Post by toddstratton1 on Feb 22, 2024 0:16:32 GMT
My Albions from KOA always have that sweet smell to them. I definitely believe it is the oil they are using. It goes away after wiping and re oiling. I like the smell though.
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Post by eastman on Feb 22, 2024 2:40:40 GMT
Albion uses Breakfree CLP on the steel when they ship swords.
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Post by mrstabby on Feb 22, 2024 6:59:37 GMT
Might be someone test handled it with some other oil on the hands. I have a gun oil, Brunox, it leaves a light, perfum-y smell for some reason best I can describe it is "old lady perfume" - reminds me of a long gone relative. And you can contaminate things with it quite easily, so my guess someone might have tested the sword. It should go away over time or wipe it with leather conditioner.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Feb 22, 2024 7:06:55 GMT
Perhaps beeswax in a leather balm?
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Post by rigel on Mar 20, 2024 17:03:32 GMT
I just got my Balaur Arms/LK Chen Templar sword from KoA (review forthcoming), and I noticed the weirdest thing: the leather on the grip (but not the scabbard) has this sweet, burnt-candy smell that I will always associate with a blown radiator. (If you've had the misfortune, you know the smell I mean.) It isn't BAD, and I have to get fairly close to it to notice. It's just...weird. I wonder if they were using ethylene glycol to clean up the glue or something. I'll make sure not to put it in my mouth, just in case. (The swords are already stored where the cats can't get to them...) (I checked, and there's no such smell on my LK Chen Ribaldo.) Funny, I have one of those and when I got it I noticed that the blade smelled sort of like metallic cucumbers. I've also noticed some of the other swords I've gotten from KOA have a maple syrup smell to the blade.
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Post by randomnobody on Apr 16, 2024 18:30:14 GMT
A couple of nights ago I stumbled over a video, probably on Reddit, showing how a marching band goes around a corner. Having been a JROTC cadet, once upon a time, I watched the video and thought, "Yeah, that's just a column maneuver, and honestly, not a very good one." My girlfriend, a former band member, questioned me on this, and we fell down a rabbit hole of various marching bands and military drill demos. Among these, of course, were the fancy rifle spinners. I never learned to spin, as my unit was regulation rather than exhibition, but I commented on how heavy the M1 rifles being used were, and took a few minutes to pull out some of my own older rifles, a Gewehr 1888 and a Turkish Mauser, as demonstrational aids in the weight of these rifles (8 pounds unloaded, give or take).
Afterwards, my girlfriend spoke the unforgivable.
"I'm gonna go wash my hands. They smell like old things."
Aghast, I called her a heathen and proceeded to spend the next several minutes sniffing my old guns, and one or two old swords, insisting she do the same as penance. She refused, and excused herself to go wash her hands.
I am appalled, and embarrassed for her.
Made me think of this thread, and wonder, once again, how many of us enjoy the smell of our swords, etc. Can't imagine it's terribly few, right?
...Right?
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Post by mrstabby on Apr 16, 2024 19:43:56 GMT
It depends, I don't enjoy the smell of the grease Windlass uses - or cosmoline, but there are some that get a very appealing fragrance for me when aged. My favourite is Brunox gun oil, smells quite flowery and sweet. On swords there isn't that much that can get a sell of its own, except the textiles/leather/wood on scabbard and grip, so it's likely mostly down to the lubricant used at the moment.
In the end though, as much as I like a smell, I can't stand when it sticks to my hands, so I understand your girlfriend. (I have changed over to non-smelling oils now because of this.)
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Apr 16, 2024 22:48:48 GMT
For years a use Vaseline on new swords (and old ones too) on blade, hilt and scabbard and like this "clean" smell. Recently I bought a leather balm for the leather parts, smelling of bees wax, which is nice too.
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Post by darkcampaign on Apr 17, 2024 23:28:18 GMT
Several of my swords and leatherworks have smelled like a heady mixture of scorched gear oil and antifreeze, on arrival. I always just thought it went with the territory, a byproduct of the dyes and evaporative solvents in the grip mixtures, combined with various preservative oils on the steel. The CLP on the Albions definitely contributes to that particular "Prestone" bouquet. I once blew out the gear set in the posi rear on a Chevelle that I used to run at the drag strip, and it had a similar aroma when I re-packed it with a fresh ring n pinion.
I have a huge stash of Remoil for my firearms collection, so I usually keep my swords wet with that, nowadays. That kills off the gear oil smell pronto on any new swords that I receive, but I'm careful to keep it off the leather bits.
I'm not sure what kind of candy you fine folks are eating, but you might want to try something different if it tastes anything like a freshly-glued sword grip slathered in break-free. Ha!
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