Your thoughts on this rapier?

[Philip]

Originally Posted by werecow

True, but the condition isn't terrible, and "a bit rusty" is probably the only kind I can afford for this kind of sword. And apparently not even that (I was not all that close)! }|P

I agree, the condition isn't all that bad, it would have benefited from a reasonable amount of cleaning and ended up looking a lot better than when it left the auction house. The trick is to stop the active corrosion and remove accumulated dirt, while retaining as much of the existing patina as you can. A slow and conservative approach is far better than fast and aggressive, a lot of collectors use inappropriate methods and ruin pieces with overcleaning.