U.S.M.C Officers Sword

T

Texas Slim

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Feb 12, 2007
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Since his death about 10 years ago, I've been the steward for my father-in-law's U.S.M.C. Vietnam era officers sword. This sword is not mine, I am simply caring for it until such time as it's rightful heir, my son, is mature enough to take ownership. With that in mind, I'd like to make sure that I maintain this heirloom in it's present, very good, condition and am hoping that some of you might offer advice both to it's care and value (for insurance purposes) if possible.

The sword, which is engraved with his name, has it's scabbard, a black leather knot and a black locking leather case with his initials and U.S.M.C in gold. The blade itself is in near mint condition but the guard does show quite a bit of wear. There is no sign of corrosion on the blade or scabbard but again the guard does have some tarnish. The leather case has become quite hard but I think with some conditioning it could be brought around; I'd welcome any suggestions as to how best to care for the leather case. Also, I wonder if I should leave it as it has been stored-- with the sword in the scabbard and both the sword and scabbard stored in the leather case-- or if it would be better kept separately?

Though it has spent the last several years tucked away in my closet, it appears no worse for wear. However, I feel that it is now time to take better care of this priceless family artifact, and have moved it into my safe where it will spend the remainder of it's days while in my care.

Thank you in advance for your advice and consideration of this most sincere request.
 
I have my father's USMC sword. I have always kept it oiled with a heavy layer of WD40, or a light layer of gun oil. I use saddle soap on the leather case and that seems to keep it looking good.

I'm not sure if this is the best way, but the sword is going on 40 years old and I've had no rust problems with the blade which I store it in it's scabard. I've heard that renaisance wax is the best for long term storage but I've never tried it. No idea on value for insurance.
 
I'm going to move this to our sword forum. Maybe we'll get more knowledgeable responses there.
 
Thank you ver much Mr. Benyamin. I was not aware of such a forum but there is much here that I do not or can not keep track of. Thanks again.
 
I can't speak to your sword in particular but in general terms I'd stay away from WD-40, it's supposed to be a lubricant not a protectant and my understanding is that it evaporates and/or leaves a residue. Ren wax works well, but so does gun oil and typically the gun oil is a lot cheaper. I'm unsure of the blade on your sword, but I can't help wondering if it is showing no staining if it is not stainless? If so it should require minimal oiling or waxing. I agree with the comments about saddle soap, and were it me I would not store the sword in the scabbard although if you have had no problems to this point it doesn't sound like you will. In general terms once again leather can sometimes react with steel depending on what the leather was tanned with.
 
For more information than you really need, here's a recent discussion of cleaning a sword in far worse shape than yours. It does give an idea of the oils and waxes available and which ones not to use.

How do I clean a Eickhorn WWII Sword?

The one simple cheap and safe solution they mention is ... food grade mineral oil, sold at any pharmacy. I keep it on my kitchen counter, to touch up my high carbon blades.
 
Triton said:
I can't speak to your sword in particular but in general terms I'd stay away from WD-40, it's supposed to be a lubricant not a protectant and my understanding is that it evaporates and/or leaves a residue. Ren wax works well, but so does gun oil and typically the gun oil is a lot cheaper. I'm unsure of the blade on your sword, but I can't help wondering if it is showing no staining if it is not stainless? If so it should require minimal oiling or waxing. I agree with the comments about saddle soap, and were it me I would not store the sword in the scabbard although if you have had no problems to this point it doesn't sound like you will. In general terms once again leather can sometimes react with steel depending on what the leather was tanned with.
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Other way around, WD40 is purely a water dispacement liquid. It's other qualities are incidental. It does leave a nasty gummy residue. The best thing is mineral oil which can be purchased cheaply at a pharmacy. To clean tarnish, use 000 steel wool and it must be three zeros. This is so mild it won't remove metal, and needs a lot of elbow grease. You can use it in conjunction with the mineral oil.

Rennaisance Wax is great for protecting the finish once it is clean.

Good call on not putting metal inside the leather for storage.
 
Bri wax is better than Ren wax for preserving carbon steel IMO. It's a british wax -- blend of beeswax and Carnuba IIRC. It features some very nasty solvents to keep the wax soft. These burn off fast leaving a very hard wax.
Ren wax is much softer and just doesn't protect steel as well. It's good for some things, though.
Also, the carriers in the Ren tend to perform more of a cleaning action (which is great for some things, but very undesirable for others). There is very little cleaning action in the Bri wax. The wax will cover what's there and harden.

You'll probably find it on line. I've seen it for sale on wood turning sites, but got mine at a good local hardware store.

http://www.briwaxwoodcare.com/
 
Andrew Taylor said:
Other way around, WD40 is purely a water dispacement liquid. It's other qualities are incidental. It does leave a nasty gummy residue. The best thing is mineral oil which can be purchased cheaply at a pharmacy. To clean tarnish, use 000 steel wool and it must be three zeros. This is so mild it won't remove metal, and needs a lot of elbow grease. You can use it in conjunction with the mineral oil.

Rennaisance Wax is great for protecting the finish once it is clean.

Good call on not putting metal inside the leather for storage.
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Interesting, I knew that bit about it displacing water, but it doesn't evaporate?
 
WD-40 has two oily components. The first is a very light oil (maybe diluted with a little solvent or something) which is intended to make the oil runny and slip into tight places. This light oil does evaporate. The second oil is a heavy oil intended to stick on surfaces after the light oil evaporates. This stuff can get gummy and attracts dust. WD-40 is designed to be sprayed into hard to reach places and provide long lasting lubrication and protection. It's biggest problem is not that it evaporates, it is that it leaves a gummy residue.

Back about 10 years ago one of our member did a comparison of protectants. He sanded some carbon steel plates, treated them with various protectants, and left them out in the back yard. With very low expectations he included a WD-40 treated plate in the mix. That was the plate that did the best. I think that he had not seriously wiped the plate so it may have had a thicker coating than most others.

When I spent some time in the Caltech machine shop the instrument maker used mineral oil on machine tool slip fittings instead of WD-40. That was to avoid them sticking together, not because mineral oil was a superior rust preventative.
 
Jeff Clark said:
WD-40 has two oily components. The first is a very light oil (maybe diluted with a little solvent or something) which is intended to make the oil runny and slip into tight places. This light oil does evaporate. The second oil is a heavy oil intended to stick on surfaces after the light oil evaporates. This stuff can get gummy and attracts dust. WD-40 is designed to be sprayed into hard to reach places and provide long lasting lubrication and protection. It's biggest problem is not that it evaporates, it is that it leaves a gummy residue.

Back about 10 years ago one of our member did a comparison of protectants. He sanded some carbon steel plates, treated them with various protectants, and left them out in the back yard. With very low expectations he included a WD-40 treated plate in the mix. That was the plate that did the best. I think that he had not seriously wiped the plate so it may have had a thicker coating than most others.

When I spent some time in the Caltech machine shop the instrument maker used mineral oil on machine tool slip fittings instead of WD-40. That was to avoid them sticking together, not because mineral oil was a superior rust preventative.
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Daggnabbit! Now you've blown up something I believed. A few years back a member of another forum I frequent did the same sort of experiment but it was steel washers in a steamy bathroom. The WD-40 washer did the worst. Now I'm at a loss...:(
 
Thanks for all the information guys. I'm not a big fan of WD-40. I typically use it as a solvent and have noticed that it does seem to leave a sticky film behind after time. I think I'll look into the food grade mineral oil. I assume this would work well on any carbon blade?
 
Texas Slim said:
I think I'll look into the food grade mineral oil. I assume this would work well on any carbon blade?
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Yes, it will. Don't overdo it, though. It will hold lint, dust, dirt in general, unless you use a small drop and spread it so it just coats the surface.
 
My suggestion is to contact your local USMC recruiting office. Explain what you have and the background. I'd expect one of the recruiters can give you their practical advice on sword and scabbard maintenance or find you someone who can answer your question. Dress swords are cherished heirlooms and I expect they would be happy to assit you in your search for information.
 
A Vietnam era sword is practically guarunteed to have a high chromium blade and rusting should not be an issue. The grip is likely plastic but could still pick up discoloration from polishing compounds so some protection/care should be considered when polishing the other fittings. There should be enough clearance between the grip and langets that you can slip a piece of paper or soft cloth between the two while polishing the guard if using a paste.

Companies like Marlow-White
http://www.marlowwhite.com/
Will sell you a sword polishing cloth which would take any discoloration of the grip out of the equation. They may also have a care tips page, I haven't checked. These same mildly abrasive cloths are sold in most supermarkets in the housecare section as Miracle Polishing cloths. I have one I have been using for about twenty years now. Sold under various descriptions, the sword retailers charge some $5-$10 (iirc) the supermarket variety are usually less than $2. Same thing, less money.

Leather care should be pretty straight forward unless it is flaking. Picards leather dressing is the choice of many. A lot of later cases will be faux leather or hard plastic anyway.

As long as the environment is stable and not terribly humid, in the scabbard, in a sword bag (see the sword retailers or use a rifle sock) and in the case is ideal for storage. Renaissance Wax would be extra insurance but really overkill unless the piece is being handled a lot. One might also prefer to display the sword and the wax would be a good idea if displayed open to the elements. There are a variety of premade sword display cases specifically for the marine officer's sword and swords in general. A cabinet maker could make up a case of whatever specification your heart desires.

As indicated previously, it is most likely a "stainless" blade, so dry is really just as good as oiled. Oils and gun care products aren't going to hurt it but clean ad dry should be just fine. Oils attract dust.

Any maker or retailer markings on the sword and case?

Cheers

GC
 
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