How to clean and maintain swords or other carbon steel blades
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- čas přidán 18. 08. 2014
- People have asked for it, so here it is. A video demonstrating how I clean my blades after test cutting , wood chopping, etc, and how to keep them rust free.
This is not about sharpening, just cleaning / maintenance and (to a lesser extent) storage. Specifically about how I remove stains, rust and scratches.
A sword sharpening video may come in the future, when I've become better at it.
Hopefully this is helpful for beginners to weapon / tool collecting.
Want to help fund future videos?
/ skallagrim
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I can absolutely tell you his advice not to rub down with the sponge is crucial , got to see the inside of my palm polishing and cleaning a cold steel blade before I really knew what I was doing years ago
what did it look like?
@@Overlord99762 red
@@beastabuelos6421 red with white little marbles (fat tissue)... yeah not very fun
Ouch
Why am I watching this, I don't even own a sword
right? I don't plan on getting one or want one. So what is wrong me? haha
I would advocate for staying away from cold steel. Hear about regular defects out of the factory from a few different reviewers mainly issues with loose hand guards and things of that nature.
I got the cold steel true flight, I'm very impressed with its quality.
all i have is a Regenyei (I hope i spelled that right) Fetter.
You secretly want a sword you just don't realize it yet
You seem very accustomed to that arm movement yourself, though...
runkurgan
Nope, I have had no need for doing the polishing of *that* sword myself in many, many years. :p
Good one
*****
_Clearly_ he was complimenting your experience, Skall. Get your mind out of the gutter,
***** you do own may swords, that all need special attention.
bylertoe1 "special" attention, mehehehuehuehue
"Baby oil, made for babies not from babies."
You crack me up. :D
How about cleaning for blood off of it?
KilleRay105
Err... exactly what have you been doing?
***** Haha! This is the funniest comment and reply I've seen in a while! Awkward murder cleanup question.
if you wash it before the blood dries up is shouldn't be a problem
Just clean the blade on some cloth nearby after usage and clean it quickly afterwards. Blood feels is nasty after all.
***** Maybe he used a blade for hunting purposes or he cut himself accidentily... Or maybe others (I hope he din't, but cleaning the blade would be the least of his problems by now of he did).
***** just a joke hahaha
Marvelous video!
For those newbies, I find that gun oil is also a marvelous oil for carbon steel blades.
A great rule of thumb for the newbies that also have firearms, I generally clean and oil my carbon steel blades the same day I clean and oil my guns. Just make a day of it, and I personally find it relaxing and therapeutic.
Little advice to improve this kind of video: At the end you should compare the blade before and after the cleaning. Like 0:16 and 7:42.
Nice video, btw.
I recommend something I used in the Navy to polish the Periscope tubes. It is called Clover paste. You can get it any grit for coarse 60 all the way to 600 fine. Where ever the shaft went thru the hull we needed an ultra fine finish that worked real good with the packing seal and done right made the friction area thru the hull damn near water tight and a high sheen mirror polish.
“The single guys among you…”
That caught me SOOOOOO off guard! I definitely got called out on that one! Lmfao 😂
About the part when you say "don't push the sponge against the edge" -> Just "bite" your blade with the sponge, but on the spine side. You'll clean it the same way and with zero risks.
KingGorrino
I'm used to doing it safely on either side because I have plenty of double edged blades.
Oh well, if you have to clean a double edged blade, then this tip doesn't have a purpose. What you could do is just lay your sword on a towel and rub it from above, without that "biting" method.
KingGorrino it does work with double edge swords since he has double edged. Saying not to do it for double edge swords when that's exactly why he does it. Doesn't make sense.
Tyler Lalonde I think you misunderstood me. I said that the tip (my tip) didn't have a purpose if we were talking about double edged swords, because there's no "safe side".
Then I proceeded to explain a method to rub double edged swords without exposing your hand too much to the edge.
KingGorrino that's fine but unless the person is a complete idiot. Then them pinching the blade won't be a pRoblem
Never thought I would enjoy a video of someone scrubbing something, but I love practical advice like this.
Im glad to see some people still care for and respect their tools and aren't whining about it being tedious, it's just a thing that has to be done for its condition to be useable, pretty, ect
I don't own any swords, but I do own a lot of steel tools that would easily rust, so in order to keep them looking shiny and new I oil them. I actually find that a thicker oil like motor oil (I specifically use non detergent 30 weight, this means it has no added chemicals to remove dirt which is fine for preventing rust) is really great for long storage of a knife. I've experimented with dozens of oils and greases, one thing I've found is that a thinner oil will be removed by touching it very easily allowing it to rust where it's been touched. The 30 weight oil really sticks to steel and it can be touched quite a bit before the protection of the oil comes off. Needless to say I've owned many tools for 5+ years that I've oiled in this fashion with no signs of rust. Also I don't polish my tools, so if there were any rust to form it would be very obvious, so in my mind 5 years of normal use and no rust is a good sign. I'm not mentioning this to put down what you've said, I'm just bringing up my experience with oil and exposed steel. Some may not like the smell of motor oil (although clean oil with no additives barely smells at all) but it does work very well for long storage.
Clove oil works very well too but is Japanese.For Viking Age re-enactment you can make rendered animal fat (unsalted do not use left over cooking grease with salt) that is heated to high temperature so has no moisture left in it and does not go rancid easily a pinch of baking soda I have heard in large batch helps remove acids but uncertain have not tried it.They may have used Rapeseed oil as well but have no idea how good that is on blades cold pressed.All though in pinch have used modern canola oil which is way more processed that old Rapeseed oil.Although you could most likely clarify or render it as well to remove impurities.Never use modern WWD-40(silicone based) or like Triflow( Teflon based) on Blades you skin or cook with by the way mineral oil would be better or others I mentioned.
This comment is from 5 years ago so I'm not sure if you will see this response or not, but I'm curious about a few things you have mentioned. Do you happen to have the Viking/Norse recipe for this rendered animal fat? More importantly, do you have any knowledge pertaining to what medieval and renaissance western Europeans would have used for cleaning and maintaining swords. Oils are obviously the most likely substance, but which oil? I also wonder if the practice and style of weapon upkeep varied depending on region.
Brilliant vid! I've been looking for good blade maintenance vids for a while now. Looking forward to your eventual sharpening lesson!
Am really glad there are still people out there, who show the proper respect and dilligence for swords/blades.
I hate it when somebody buys a sword just to fool around.
For a satin finish, I've found useful scrubbing it again with the coarse part of a kitcken's sponge with some WD40 on it. Personally, I like my steels like that over mirror finish.
Can i assume you and your wife take time out of the week for... Mutual Polishing???
Reanchi
All the time. :)
*****
Your Sword looks a little bit short, if you know what i mean. (Joking)
CAepicreviews More polishing will solve that.
*****
"Woooo! Somebody look up the Armor Class on the Beast with Two Backs!"
(for the uninitiated: www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0402.html)
Thank you i got my first sword awhile ago and your series is helping me keep it maintained.
Thanks for this. My broadsword got rust spots when I moved to the tropics for work. I was able to clean it and maintain/improve the polish with PEEK. Keep up the informative videos.
Just on polish: I've found toothpaste works really well. It's essentially the same thing as metal polish, just a little mintier :)
Thanks for the video Skall, recently found some rust on my sword and wasn't exactly sure on how to tackle it. Very informative. Also a question to anyone looking through the comments: is using baby oil just straight up worse than other oils? Sorry if stupid question :/
Thanks a lot for this video man, I just recently started getting into owning different types of bladed tools and weapons and I was having trouble finding out the best way to clean them until I came across this video. Very helpful, God bless you.
I appreciate that sweet metal polishing ASMR at the end.
any suggestion on how to get rid of rust? ps: thanks for your videos I am a subscriber :D
Depends on the degree of rust on the sword.
You can always polish the rust away if its a light case, with metal polish like skall polished the blade in the video.
Afterwards be sure to oil the sword afterwards, since you have a fresh layer of iron which, exposed to oxygen, will rust very fast.
If there is heavy rust, electrolysis works great. I collect and restore old chisels and hand planes and electrolysis is the most effective method. If you are unfamiliar with electrolysis you submerge the metal in water with washing soda. Then connect a car battery to it and a scrap "sacrificial piece of metal" and then SSCIENCE!!!!
ahahah thank you guys :D
light rust use ballistol
Wow Metatron, look at where you are today XD. Skall and you have grown incredibly in the last 6 yrs! It's funny to see such an old comment.
Very nice video, straight to the point and very helpful! Thanks Skall! I have just recently (3 months ago) bought a sword and I was having a little difficulty maintaining it so this video is nicely timed for me. Quick Question: How would you recommend maintaining a pommel (which is now completely discoloured)? After each use, I make sure it is dry but it seems that it's not enough. Any tips?
This is hella helpful! Even though it's 10 years old this video is great, straight to the point! You have prolonged my first sword's life by a lot!!
Extremely informative and probably saved me a lot of money. Thanks!
oh skall... your jokes skall...
No stop
7-1
llamapi3 hehehe i was cheering for germany... our nation needed the lesson
6:38
I use the baby oil, it works really well
And it’s the latter.
Idk if I'm really stupid, but would olive oil work?
It probably would work... but you’re putting olive oil on your swords, so don’t be surprised if something happened.
Thanks for the video! Helped me clean up my seax nicely and get rid of the few spots of rust that managed to sneak in.
Yeah! Now I can keep my shivs nice clean before or after I use them! Thanks Skall and Bathroom cam!
Good video, one comment on using a kitchentowel (paper) though, you don't want the kind that's extra strong when wet because chances are that the towel contains fibres (sometimes steel microfibres) that will scratch the blade or be able to damage the apex (much like the green fibres on the sponge you used).
Second comment: In the upper left corner, isn't that a usable fieldkit (or poormanskit) for blade maintenance (polishing) since you're carrying toothpaste and a brush anyway (a spare isn't that heavy).
Third comment: When you have emptied the soapdispenser near the toothpaste, you can fill it with the oil and have a oildispencer that doesn't spill when (not if) you tip it over.
Hey Skall, big fan of your videos and this is quite off-topic, but: I think you should think of some kind of animated outro for your videos. I think it'd give them an even higher recognition value and more importantly the endings wouldn't be as abrupt as they are right now. A smoother ending with an outro that represents you well just has something...but eh, just my opinion. Keep up the great work, love seeing your channel grow so fast!
Vikings dont do outros, they do endings. Preferably yours. Only samurai do it to themselves. If you dont like it, just consider it a realistic fade to black.
Thanks for the info! There is so much to learn about swords and their maintenance.
Thanks Sir, I was waiting for a such video since long.well explained and simple ways of maintenance. And also the precautions that must be taken. From Mauritius.
That is sexist! Some girls are also well versed in that type of exercise!
LOOOOL
Are they really girls, or a third gender?
+polarknight 537 I think they're saying some women perform that motion on men
Trap?
Kereama Hape He means a Hand Job
That Khukri looks like it comes from House Thamel. I've long admired their stuff and would love to see a review of it. I just barely subscribed to this channel so if there is already a review my apologies in advance just disregard this comment lol
Wow, I was actually planning on requesting if you'd upload a video about cleaning and maintaining. I found an old sword of mine in storage and the tip looked like it had been stuck in the ground. Very helpful video, thank you.
This is very usefull for me i have a old talwar lying around now i can finally clean it properly
Does living in a very humid place like Florida put blades at a higher risk to rust when being kept in storage for prolonged periods?
Git Gud
Yes. If you keep them oiled or waxed you should be fine though.
I live in Florida and I care and oil for my swords regularly. As long as you store them safe in a room temp area and away from the sun then you're good to go.
Like he said, yes it does. I'm relatively new to blacksmithing and recently learned to make my own hammers. I neglected to protect them from the humidity here and left them for a few months since I don't have my own forge yet and am not at school using them. Spent over an hour derusting them yesterday so I could get a coat of silicone on them (Silicone spray from the hardware store also works well. I would probably specially order the oil he's talking about in the video for cooking knives I'm planning on making. If you happen to be buying from a Japanese supplier, Camellia oil is also called Tsubaki oil.) My first hammer was bought and has a black paint on them and I've never had to think about oiling my tools before, so lesson hopefully learned.
Mr. Allmighty Cornholio or instead of oiling regularly you can spray it once every year with ballistol.
For rust to occur you need two things- water and oxygen (air). More humidity = more moisture (water) in the air = higher chance of rust.
How frequently do you recommend doing this process to keep the blades in good condition?
Excellent video, answered a lot of unasked questions. Thanks.
YES! This is the video I have been looking for!
Very informative. Thank you Skall. :)
Although, is there a different technique of cleaning with double edged swords? Because I'm planning on getting myself that zombie slayer sword you reviewed not too long ago.
Oooh, new zombie tool sword test in coming!
I did this to my great uncles 1800's Katana and it looks GREAT now!
Good thing you clarified about the baby oil, I was worried for a minute.
Can you make a video on Lord of the Rings swords?
why not use the dishwasher?
piraco
You're kidding, right?
***** That moment when you can't tell if someone is stupid or just trolling.
***** He's asking a question guys, c'mon play nice
You couldn't keep the Tang/Grip our of it, which would lead to rusting, among a few/half dozen other things.
Jiraiya OfMountMyoboku
I get that all the time. :)
That is such a nice looking blade ya got there, I'm definitely a sucker for that blade shape.
That was very informative and useful. Thank you.
3:46
I'm single and I find this offensive :p
+Euthanasia Lets be real here, all guys are gonna be pretty comfortable with this motion!
Arclor Yes. It's all about... Ending him rightly ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I'm single and I didn't give a damn and actually find that hilarious. Also, the moment heard that, I realized it will be fun to check just how many other dick-scrubs got butthurt. Seems as a good idea! haha
Usually(from my experience) when someone is joking.. last thing they will write is this smile: ":p" expressing neutrality if someone finds their reaction hard to believe. so I took you seriously
Lucas Sebastião de Almeida Castro Bruh.. How will you end it rightly, tho?
oil made from babies? why aren't we running our cars on that?
Phenixdwn We are, but we use an extremely slow conversion process to convert ancient babies into fuel.
It's not good oil because it contains water...
Thanks for this. I am ordering something today that will require such care. This is useful.
Just the video I was looking for
espected an inappropriate joke. wasnt disappointed.
How often should I clean my swords?
Green Rooster
Only after use. Re-oiling maybe every couple of months, if just stored.
***** Thanks I just got a Roman short sword that I LOVE and I had make sure.
Depends on the storage conditions:
much dust; hanging on cold walls, moist climate....
I also noticed, that some carbon steel resist rust longer than others. Some rust within one week after touching the blade others can be handled quite a while without doing so.
Your avatar is strange.
Green Rooster or you can use ballistol
Awesome video, very helpful
My 1862 light calvary saber I got in Gettysburg, PA has rust forming on the tip of the blade and the sheath also has rust forming on it.
Just keep rubbing ^~^
Who else watches anime and just now bought a sword
Me
Ya sir why ar u stalking me I watch anime an own a just bought katana myself
I've been using a dry Teflon bike chain lubricant as a preservative oil and it seems to be working quite well.
thanks, really needed something like this video
Well, this video just convinced me to never get a sword. Thanks, Skall. :(
Why would you want a sword if you can shoot lighting and fire out of your fingertips anyway?
Odood19
So I can look even cooler while doing it.
Azula Blast lightning OUT of the sword
***** That would be dope.
Comon, see it as meditation. At least it has something calming to polish a sword. ;-)
Won't water rust the blade???!!!!!!
+john smith
Not if you dry and oil it.
+Skallagrim Can you use WD-40?
***** thanks for the answer :)
+VERY NIIICE You can but it will leave a blue-ish tint on the blade. Which depends on your taste wether it looks nice or not.
+VERY NIIICE Probably, WD-40 works for most metals
You tease... cleaning the Diphos. Cant wait for that review!
Now I can sleep at night dreaming about Skall polishing his sword :D
Lol well developed muscles in deed!
Also what about the Ladies? They must have some strength in that regard as well right? ;)
Keon994
It's usually more wrist and finger strength in that case. :)
***** I meant ladies with a significant other that they give handjobs to. :)
Keon994 oh shut the fuck up.
Same Different
I second that.
Same Different I third that.
Tells us not to sandwich the sponge against the edge.
Immediately sandwiches the sponge on the edge.
this video is great. I've just got into swords myself and I'm unsure and a bit nervous of how to maintain them. I had to save up to get my first sword so I don't want to ruin it. But this video will help a lot. Cheers! :)
Lol yeah, I learned the edge thing years back after fileting my palm, didn't hurt though, so honing skills are on point!
thumb up for masturbation joke
Late but had to fix up a blade that the roof leaked rainwater on, assume it left unwanted acid etching. Was freaking out but with some Peek and Brillo pads, as per Skall's instructions too, I was able to get a mirror polish back on my longsword. Thanks again!
Hoppes #9 cleans it up really nice.
Alternative would be some teflon-based CLP.
YES WE DO WANT TO SEE A SHARPENING VIDEO !!!
Great video thanks for sharing you knowledge.
Thank you, i was thinking of buying some swords for a collection, this will help me a lot in the future :D
This is very informative. I did some tatami cutting with one of my katanas yesterday and the uchiko ball +sword oil practice wasn’t enough. I’ll try this once my polish arrives from Amazon.
Update. I followed this video for my katana. It worked great.
sword at the end, ZT Diphos, so cool
I thought about looking for a video on this subject yesterday.
very helpful, thank you. great channel!
I've been subscribed to your channel for about 6 months and just found this on Google when I was trying to figure out how to polish my lore inaccurate Andúril.
Also, I am _VERY_ familiar with that motion. Too familiar one might say.
This is a good video because I recently bought a sword and did not know how to take care of it
Honda Motorcycle oil is what I use for almost all of my polishing needs; cars, weapons, instruments, etc. It is extremely good for simple polishing and keeping things clean. It obviously does nothing for scratches or rust but it is great for cleaning and polishing.
As a person who owns a sword. This helped a lot, thanks.
Just got my first sword. It came with a leather sheath, so it'll be a bit of work keeping it from rusting.
I went for the 'Celtic Sword' by Devil's Edge, by the way. Figured I should probably start cheap.
No need to burnish my "forged by fire north pole" , its flawlessness already radiates perfection. Cheers from the land of Mont.
Very helpful thanks for you knowledge
Seriously thank you, Skallagrim. Seeing stuff like this gives me a bit of appreciation for Swords, and most of the Tools that you showcase. I swear, the more I watch your video the more I grow to understand what you mean by "Swords/ect. are Tools." I usually only hear (Read) that from battle experienced old men in Midevil-Fantasy stories when they chide the much younger protagonist or something like that..., but I guess what I've meant to say (Not by just this video alone mind you) through watching all of your videos that I'm starting to see much clearer. Swords are Just like a Drill, you can use drills as a weapon to harm too, yes but I don't really think that the person making the drill (drill bit) intends for his creation to go out into the world to help cause harm. It has been done, and while Swords themselves are quite different from say... a Drill and a Saw, you have to maintain them too.
The video in my opinion was quite enlightening and I cannot help but wait for your next video happily.
Rem Oil or Hoppe's No 9 gun oil/ oil rags work wonders as well!
good video, you should do a video on how to make your own handle wrapping
oh my Skall, keep polishing that blade XD
I use a silicon reel cloth to oil my blades! Works very nice, cheap too.
Very useful video. Thanks.
There are some products that i use to clean my cymbals that i think would also work quite well. Theyre made with the intent of cleaning bronze but i dont think it would be much of an issue. I specifically use a drum/cymbal "detailer" called Music nomad that is quite mild and just removes the stick marks and finger prints and also leaves a thin coating that protects from oxidation and prevents dust from settling on the cymbals. Most cymbals have a protective coating added to them to protect them so you have to be careful when cleaning that you dont rub that off, thats why this cleaner is so good because it removes all the shit without damaging the metal. I can tsee why it wouldnt also work well on a sword blade as an "in between" quick clean.
This is like an ASMR video, very cool
Very informative! thankyou!
You can also use weapon oils, if you don't mind it's a little bit more expensive. Break Free works pretty well on blades and firearms too.
I find using fine grit artificial steel wool (scrub pad with abrasives in it) works great and gives an quick and easy satin finish. But most times I don't really clean my blades since 5160 in my experience doesn't pit so cleaning rust off is easy.