Flintlock Pistols With Rare Safety Frizzens, c1740

[Philip]

Dana,
I don't know what the atmosphere is like where you live, but for those of us in the greater Los Angeles basin, we have no problem with silver becoming dark and tarnished. It's as certain as death and taxes, and it doesn't take long, either! Even though I live close to shore with the afternoon sea breezes and no smog to speak of overhead, all of my silver-mounted weapons develop a patina. I've come to appreciate the lustrous blue-black patina that forms evenly on sword hilts and scabbard mounts exposed to the air, and I never clean it off. A gentle rubbing with an old wool sock to lighten up the high points of a chased design is all I do if I need to photograph something, or show the piece to a visitor.