Kult Of Athena - Sword Care Tips

Sword Use & Care Tips

Usage
Do not bang your sword against another sword in a theatrical-style duel, unless it is specifically designed to do so.
Swords were never really used the way we see in Hollywood movies. A swordsman would never try to block another sword with the edge of their blade. This would not only damage the sword's cutting edge, but also put the defender in a poor position to counter attack. We offer three basic types of swords: Decorative, Functional or "Battle Ready" and Stage Combat. Decorative swords are usually made of stainless steel. These types of swords should never be struck into anything, as stainless steel is very brittle. Battle Ready swords are made with carbon steel and usually made for cutting. Stage Combat swords are really the only ones you should strike together. Stage Combat swords are made with extra thick edges to survive sword to sword combat. Even then, this activity will wear out the sword after time, but the Stage Combat ones will take the most abuse.

Do not bang your sword against any hard object to test its strength or the "sound" of the steel as it hits a hard object.
No matter how tough or strong the steel is in any sword, it will nick when struck against something equally hard. If you would like to use your sword for cutting. limit it to soft target such as rice mats, cardboard tubes or water jugs. With a properly sharpened "Battle Ready" sword, these items can be cut without damaging your blade. Harder objects will damage the edge over time causing the sword to eventually fail. Also, PLEASE know what you are doing! Sharpened swords can be very dangerous. Remember, sword were designed for one purpose, to kill. They are just as capable of dealing death now as they were hundreds of years ago. Seek proper training before engaging in this type of activity.

Do not attempt to chop down a tree with your sword.
Such an activity is guaranteed to damage your sword. Axes and machetes are well designed for this with the weight of the steel concentrated over the point of percussion. When you strike a firmly fixed object like a tree or a thick branch with a sword, a great deal of the blade projects past the object being cut, causing the blade to bend or torque. It should be pointed out that the Japanese, who believe in a great deal of practice with the sword, used thick bamboo. The bamboo was resistant to a cut, but didn't have the rigidity of a tree, and so it would not have damaged a valuable blade. For a Japanese warrior to cut into a tree would have been unthinkable.

Care
Many swords are made the same way they were hundreds of years ago, and as such they are vulnerable to the same problems, mainly rust. Here are some tips to help you keep your sword collection looking new for many years to come.
Sword blades usually come in 2 types of steel, stainless, or high carbon. Stainless steel blades as you would expect are very rust resistant. Lower grade stainless may develop a bit of rust, while higher grades are completely immune. High carbon steel can rust easily if not properly maintained, so here are some tips to keep them looking great.

1 - Do Not store your swords in leather scabbards for long periods of time, the moisture in the leather will cause them to oxidize rapidly. Storing a sword in a wood core scabbard is ok, just be sure to oil the blade before prolonged storage.

2 - One way to avoid rust is to keep a light coating of oil on the blade, WD40 works well for this purpose, but there are also oils specifically made for use on swords like this. You will find some of our items come shipped in an oil or grease coating, this is the reason.

3 - Avoid excessive handling of the blade, the oils in skin are very bad for the metal. At the very least wipe off any finger prints.

4 - If you don't want a bunch of oily swords hanging around, another thing you can do is coat it with Renaissance wax. This will give the blade a nice wax "shell" to protect it.

5 - If you need to clean up a rusty blade, WD40 can clear up a lot of light rust. For deeper rust, try a synthetic sanding pad such as the ones available from 3M. Use the finest grade, as to not scratch up the blade. For very stubborn rust, the Rust Eraser works well.

With a little preventative maintenance your sword collection will stay looking new for a long long time.