Restoration of Rusty NAVY SABER

Video Description

Hi! Today, restoration a navy saber. I purchased this item on an online flea market in France. At first glance, the piece seemed very interesting to me. After I received the package, I realized that the guard and some other parts of the saber were somehow made from thin sheet brass. It’s possible that this saber is decorative or ceremonial — I’m not sure. But I really liked the shape of the handle. The handle, by the way, is made of bone and is fully intact. That’s inspiring. So, I’m starting the restoration. The condition of the item is average. 90% of the parts are present. Only the suspension ring and the scabbard tip are missing. The handle is intact. There is rust on the blade. The leather on the scabbard is in terrible condition. In my opinion, it’s old buffalo leather that has simply dried out over time. It will also need to be refreshed. So, I’m starting the restoration. First of all, I tried to disassemble the handle. It was riveted on the backside, as it usually is. Disassembly was fairly simple. After that, I tried to remove the handle, but it didn’t come off. I left it for 12 hours after applying oil. The next morning, I was able to completely disassemble the handle and proceed with cleaning the blade first. I cleaned the blade using soft steel wool, cleaning powder, and a cleaning solution. Sandpaper was used minimally — only at the end for polishing. Once the blade was cleaned, I corrected the shape of the tang and moved on to restoring the handle. I want to note that I didn’t sharpen the blade. I simply cleaned it well and removed the scratches from the cutting edge. Apparently, someone had previously sharpened it on a rough grinding wheel. Restoring the handle took quite a bit of time, because it’s bone, and bone requires a lot of care. Over time, it becomes very fragile. First, I used liquid soap and water to remove surface stains and dirt. Then I used cleaning powder, a non-alkaline detergent, and of course, 3% hydrogen peroxide. After cleaning the handle, I moved on to lengthening the tang on the blade itself, because during disassembly I had to slightly grind down the end of the tang. To stretch and lengthen the tang, it needs to be heated and lightly forged, but by no means cooled in cold water — otherwise it becomes brittle. It’s better to let it cool naturally. I do this by clamping the blade in a vise so the heat from the tang dissipates evenly. After everything was ready, I assembled the handle, reinforced the wrapping with wooden pins, and riveted the handle again. Then I began restoring the scabbard. The scabbard was in terrible condition — the quality was very poor. First, I started cleaning it with special soap. Then I used a brush. After that, although I didn’t want to, I realized I had to open up the scabbard because the stitching had rotted away. Once opened, I saw a lot of dirt inside. First, it needed disinfection, and second — re-stitching. Inside, I found a dirty, rusty paper insert, which I threw away. I disinfected the inside with medical alcohol. Then I took velvet and lined the inner part of the leather scabbard, leaving it for one day. After that, I went to a shoemaker, because he has a special hand-operated machine for stitching leather, and we made a new seam on the scabbard. Then I adjusted the shape of the scabbard, trimmed off excess leather and threads, and treated it thoroughly with linseed oil to soften the leather. The edges I covered with a special leather paste. After that, I moved on to creating the missing brass fittings. I used thicker brass, because the original thin brass on the scabbard started to melt immediately under heat. I made a suspension ring fitting and a new scabbard tip, then finished and mounted them. I attached the scabbard tip securely, as usual, with glue. After checking everything, I was glad to see that I had managed to preserve the saber’s old look, but at the same time, it became much sturdier and refreshed. As always, I performed an interesting test for you. I also added some info about my Patreon page, where I share various content — photos and videos about restoration, historical places, and unique objects. If you're interested, feel free to subscribe and support my projects. Thanks everyone — and please don’t forget to share this video. 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/ #screwsandtools #saber #restoration