My own area of special interest is one where ongoing restoration is an accepted and normal part of collection.
It is the normal, natural process that is applied to preserving the items which those of us involved in this sphere of tosan aji pursue.
Because of this, much of what has already been said in this thread appears to be self evident to me, and I have not contributed before now because I felt that another post in general agreement with the proposals that have been put forward would not be particularly valuable.
However, I note that Rick has suggested a way in which ongoing contributions to a resource to assist conservation/restoration could be structured in order to make it a safe and useable guide for people with varying levels of experience.
I wish to make it a matter of record that I fully endorse Rick's suggestions, and I feel that if anybody has any additional contribution or comment in respect of these suggestions, now might be a very good time to speak up.
Either we want something useable, or we do not.
Either we want a clearly structured way in which to proceed, or we do not.
The moderators and staff of our discussion group cannot function in a vacuum: - they need feedback and comment in order to make not only this idea for a restoration resource functional but indeed , for the ongoing success of our very valuable Forum.
In respect of what approach should be adopted in the restoration/conservation of historic weaponry, I feel that the philosophy of the professional restorator is probably correct:-
do as much as is necessary, and as little as is possible.
|