Restoration of Antique Royalist Smallsword - National Guard

Video Description

Hi! Today antique restoration of smallsword. This is an old item — an antique Royalist officer’s rapier. The piece was also purchased in France. Its condition is average. There is rust, quite deep marks on the blade, patina, dirt, the scabbard is missing, one detail is missing, and the grip wrapping is gone. But overall, the rapier is preserved well. The tip is slightly broken. And now I am restoring all of this. So, we have a rapier from the early 19th century. First of all, I removed the remaining parts of the scabbard and the missing detail and set them aside. Then I tried to disassemble the grip. I marked the end of the handle and drilled it a little. Next, using a special tool, I drove out the grip and removed the guard. After that, I moved on to cleaning the blade — this is where all the work began. I chose soft steel wool and natural cleaning ingredients. I also used liquid cleaning agents, applying them to the blade and working them in with soft steel wool. After cleaning, I used jeweler’s sandpaper to make the surface uniform. The next step was cleaning the fullers on the blade. For this, I used a soft abrasive eraser. Then I used a very soft stone so that the blade surface became slightly polished. After that, I carried out a long polishing process using a mix of polishing pastes, oil, kerosene, and solvent. Then I wiped the blade, removed excess material, and went over the surface with a soft steel brush. After all these procedures, I used a solvent again to remove the residue, and on the clean, dry blade I applied a special paste to prevent rust or any stains. Next step — the grip. I removed the old wrapping and began with the rapier’s tang. I used a razor blade to remove dirt and old glue. I cleaned the inside with a regular brush, then used additional brushes for the surface, and degreased everything. I filled the cracks in the grip with special wood glue. I wanted to unwind the original wire that wrapped the rapier’s grip, but it was so corroded that it broke with every turn. Originally, it was copper wire. And this was copper wire too, but because of corrosion, it looked the way it did. I used new copper wire, twisting several strands together. But before that, I wrapped the core of the grip with thin natural leather so the wire would sit tightly. In the past, they used paper, string, or leather for this. After that, I started wrapping the grip. It took almost two days. Then I moved on to creating the main wrapping from thicker copper wire. When the grip was ready and the upper part fit onto the rapier’s core properly, I moved to cleaning the remaining brass parts. I decided to clean the brass very gently. I left most of the patina. I used only a natural sponge, and in narrow places — soft steel wool, cleaning agents, and warm water. After the cleaning was finished, I wiped everything dry, and lubricated the mechanism on the guard with oil. Then came assembly. Everything went perfectly, but I couldn’t peen the tang. Even though I had spread it, extended it, the metal crumbled — but this is typical for steel of that era. I have encountered this often. For a more reliable peening, I welded a small piece of steel with electric welding and successfully peened it through a washer. The next step was the scabbard. Since I do not have a leather sewing machine, I went to a cobbler, and he stitched the leather for me. Then I processed the leather, removed excess material, and began making the missing fittings. After that, I attached everything to the scabbard and, as usual, performed a test for you. Please don’t forget to share this video. If you would like to purchase one of my works, please contact me on social media. Thank you. Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention! Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex! Please subscribe to my channel: @ScrewsAndTools 🍖 My New Cooking channel! @screwsandtoolscooking Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Screwsandtools Paypal: paypal.me/screwsandtools Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scresandtools/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screwsandtools/ ko-fi.com/screwsandtools #screwsandtools #smallsword #restoration