I was given a Luftwaffe officer's sword and I have some questions. First off I am not a blade collector but I have always liked this particular sword design so was happy to get it and don't feel the need to sell it but I do want to take good care of it.
First of all, this has the heaviest silver plating I have ever seen on one of these swords and it looks like it has a clear laquer coating on it. I mean by that only the silver parts. The leather of the scabbard and hilt are not coated nor is the blade. I think these parts were coated before assembly as the small screws for the scabbard fittings are black. There is virtually no tarnish except where it was hung with wires around some of the metal parts and the laquer wore off. There you can see the very dark tarnish. This is on the lower part of the hilt, the rings on the scabbard in a couple of places and the tip of the scabbard. The laquer has taken on a decidedly yellow tint which I will attribute to its being present for quite a while.
The next problem is the hanger. The leather loops have rotted and the hanger is seperate from the scabbard. One loop is still attached to the hanger by one side and the other is totally seperated but all the pieces are there.
By the way, there is a name engaved on top of the scabbard on the upper surface of the "lip" of the top silver fitting.
So my questions are this: should the laquer be removed or not? I think I know the answer to that question: NO! But I have also read that if a metal is laquered or clear coated in some way and the coating is scratched or breaks down in places so that some of the metal is exposed and can tarnish then those areas will always be apparent when the piece is stripped and cleaned if left that way long enough. The next question is what can I do with the hanger, if anything, to try and restore it? Any advice is appreciated.
Mike
First of all, this has the heaviest silver plating I have ever seen on one of these swords and it looks like it has a clear laquer coating on it. I mean by that only the silver parts. The leather of the scabbard and hilt are not coated nor is the blade. I think these parts were coated before assembly as the small screws for the scabbard fittings are black. There is virtually no tarnish except where it was hung with wires around some of the metal parts and the laquer wore off. There you can see the very dark tarnish. This is on the lower part of the hilt, the rings on the scabbard in a couple of places and the tip of the scabbard. The laquer has taken on a decidedly yellow tint which I will attribute to its being present for quite a while.
The next problem is the hanger. The leather loops have rotted and the hanger is seperate from the scabbard. One loop is still attached to the hanger by one side and the other is totally seperated but all the pieces are there.
By the way, there is a name engaved on top of the scabbard on the upper surface of the "lip" of the top silver fitting.
So my questions are this: should the laquer be removed or not? I think I know the answer to that question: NO! But I have also read that if a metal is laquered or clear coated in some way and the coating is scratched or breaks down in places so that some of the metal is exposed and can tarnish then those areas will always be apparent when the piece is stripped and cleaned if left that way long enough. The next question is what can I do with the hanger, if anything, to try and restore it? Any advice is appreciated.
Mike
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