Hi there - my son has been gifted these three swords. We know they are Toledo swords and pretty confident they are poor condition 'wall-hangers' but wondered if anyone can advise us on how to find out more about the designs on the ivory handles and if it is worth getting them cleaned up for him to display?
Recommendation? Advice please on whether to fix up
- Thread starter Fiss
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Triton
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Agree with your diagnosis, they are in fact poor condition wall hangers probably from the mid 70s to mid 80s would be my guess. I would be stunned if the grips were actually ivory, I suspect that they are more likely to be resin or plastic. The actual designs might be inspired by something medieval... Or maybe not. As far as cleaning goes you certainly can't hurt the value which is negligible. Perhaps some time with a buffing wheel could return them to their original glory such as it was.
Thank you so much - not worried about value as my son is keen to keep them and they are a meaningful gift but we didn't know what we were looking at! Any way to tell if is plastic/resin?
Triton
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I would expect that were you to thump it with a fingernail it would sound like plastic. That aside the only way I can think of off hand is the old heat up a straight pin trick and see if it melts the plastic in some inconspicuous place. Normally I would never suggest such a thing but in this case I think there is little chance of causing irreparable harm.