Corrosion
Hi Colin,
Being new here I hesitated to suggest this earlier but I have run it past Jim McDougall and he agrees that it may be worth considering.
Your pictures show a lot of active corrosion and although WD40 and oil are good in most circumstances they work best on metal as opposed to oxides and it would be hard to exclude air and moisture completely over a long period so corrosion may continue.
There are products readily available online in small quantities and in non toxic, safe to use at home preparations, that will remove rust and render it inert long enough to seal it. The de-corroder fluid will remove some corrosion depending on how long it is left on so does require a bit of care and experiment, but it leaves the corrosion inactive. The museum 'wax' dries clear and gives a sealed non greasy surface which can be removed if needed.
Please be clear I am not in any way advocating shiny metal - just halting further corrosion.
In brief what your aiming for is to remove or deactivate the red rust - that's yesterdays corrosion - without removing the black inert patina of history.
You still end up with a rusty old sword but you have prevented further deterioration.
I'll not mention brand names here but if you want further info pm me.
Regards, CC
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