shamshir w. scabbard restoration/conservation advice

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by GePi

Thanks for the suggestions Marius and Detlef, I'll give those a try.

Hello Roland,
Steffen actually still has the other shamshir at his workshop. I wanted to call him anyway to ask him if he has gotten around to starting the repair of the hilt. And I have not forgotten your offer, if it still stands.

Actually I'm not yet really sure if I want this scabbard restored, I think in this case conservation would be enough for me.

Another question, how can you differentiate different hilt materials, i.e. ivory, walrus ivory or bone. Are there any reliable defining features, and can it be done from pictures alone?

Regards,

Gernot

Hello Gernot,

I can tell you basic things about material identification, please send me a personal message and we can talk in our language. Judged from the pictures your hilt is made from elephant ivory.

I have not forgotten your saber. Me was just thinking, that my explanation about the sharpness of the edge was too stupid.

I can send pictures of my restored scabbard to you. I was also thinking a long time, whether restoring or not. Steffen restored my scabbard and I'm very satisfied with the result. Even under a magnifier one cannot see the difference between old and restored leather, he did an absolutely perfect job. He has very old leather which is ideal for the task.


Kind regards,
Roland

[mariusgmioc]

I like the scabbard in its current condition (which is reasonably good in my oppinion) and I would not have it restored, but keep it as it is.

But this is my personal prefference, of course.

[GePi]

Marius, I tend to agree in this case. The vast majority of the leather is still present and the missing pieces don't detract from the overall look too much in my opinion.

Roland, when I dropped off the other shamshir at Steffen's, we also talked about the possibility to build a new scabbard for it from scratch, so I will probably still benefit from his skills in that regard.

As requested by Detlef, I added another picture of the grip scales from the other side of the grip.

As for the pommel cap, has anybody had any experience in refixing something like this. Could dunking the cap in boiling water be enough to melt the resin?

Regards

Gernot

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by GePi

As requested by Detlef, I added another picture of the grip scales from the other side of the grip.

Hello Gernot,

agree with Roland, the material look indeed like elephant ivory.

Regards,
Detlef

[Richard G]

Just goes to show! because I would have said this was marine\walrus ivory.
Regards
Richard

[mariusgmioc]

I don't have much experience with removing old resin, but I would definitely NOT use any hot water.

I would try with a hot ait blower.

[DaveS]

Gernot: Your handle is made of walrus ivory. On the end i can see the distinctive pattern that elephant ivory does not have..........Dave.