shamshir w. scabbard restoration/conservation advice

GePi · 12th December 2016, 06:12 PM

Hello,

I have made a new aquisition and I am in need of advice again. I bought another beat up shamshir, this one with its original scabbard.

The grip is in fine condition except for the pommel cap, which is loose and only held in place by its pin. There actually is stille quite a bit of the adhesive present inside the cap and I'm wondering if I could utilize that to refasten the cap. If it was a tulwar hilt I would try heating it up with a blow torch, but in this case I'm rather worried about damaging the grip scales.

The blade is horribly scratched up with coarse sandpaper, but otherwise in nice condition. I polished and etched a small window and got a nice pattern, would this classify as a kind of sham wootz?

The scabbard is a typical persian leather over wood type.
Some of the leather is lost, but overall it looks quite decent I think, and I would like it to remain as such. Does anyone here have experience with preserving antique leather of this kind? I guess some kind of treatment should be applied to stop further degredation, could I just use normal leather products? Should I clean the leather beforehand?
The same question applies to the exposed wood surfaces, should they be treated with some kind of oil to prevent further drying out?
Also in what condition should the scabbard be stored. After some bad experiences with rust I have my other (all metal) swords in closed display cases with very low air humidity, but I have read that leather should not be stored in too dry of an environment.

All right that's all I can think of at the moment, as always I appreciate any insight you can offer.

Gernot

12th December 2016, 06:12 PM	#1
GePi Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Germany Posts: 95	shamshir w. scabbard restoration/conservation advice Hello, I have made a new aquisition and I am in need of advice again. I bought another beat up shamshir, this one with its original scabbard. The grip is in fine condition except for the pommel cap, which is loose and only held in place by its pin. There actually is stille quite a bit of the adhesive present inside the cap and I'm wondering if I could utilize that to refasten the cap. If it was a tulwar hilt I would try heating it up with a blow torch, but in this case I'm rather worried about damaging the grip scales. The blade is horribly scratched up with coarse sandpaper, but otherwise in nice condition. I polished and etched a small window and got a nice pattern, would this classify as a kind of sham wootz? The scabbard is a typical persian leather over wood type. Some of the leather is lost, but overall it looks quite decent I think, and I would like it to remain as such. Does anyone here have experience with preserving antique leather of this kind? I guess some kind of treatment should be applied to stop further degredation, could I just use normal leather products? Should I clean the leather beforehand? The same question applies to the exposed wood surfaces, should they be treated with some kind of oil to prevent further drying out? Also in what condition should the scabbard be stored. After some bad experiences with rust I have my other (all metal) swords in closed display cases with very low air humidity, but I have read that leather should not be stored in too dry of an environment. All right that's all I can think of at the moment, as always I appreciate any insight you can offer. Gernot Attached Images