rethinking the rangers weapons

[Gareth]

...

[R.D.Metcalf]

You know guys I hope my tone here isn't taken the wrong way .

Not at all.

[R.D.Metcalf]

Just to add to Cedric's advice:

(Up-down, no sido-sido ). Lubricate with your fave oil. I like BreakFree and Ezox, but natural oils like lanolin and the like work fine too.



~G

I love the way break free smells, but I want to say that I think lanolin coats better...I wanted to throw that in just to be friggin' contrary!



"My general motto after working in various metals for 8 years is: "Don't do more then you have to, because you only make more work for yourself and possibly find you're lacking in materials because of your zeal".

I agree 100%, Cedric. my motto echoes yours: "its easy to take metal off but its mighty hard to make it grow back".

[dwayne davis]

I have always used a liberal spray of ole wd-40 ( i know not authentic) in my scabbards. even the wood scabbards, where i live in the mountains it can get a bit humid. especialy this time of year. it is just a fact of life, if you have any weapons made out of carbon steel, they will get rust on them. i think it does make the experience more authentic. you know fighting orcs,trolls,the creatures in mirkwood, RUST !! you could always try gun blue on youre hilt, just a thought.

[Eric C]

Gun Blue would also keep the sun from reflecting off of the metal and giving away your position.
I'm working on a hunter for a guy now. His orders are that there be no shiny metal showing. He wants the blade blackened as well as the other furniture. Well, his pickyness adds to the price, so far be it from me to argue.

Oh, and Mike I haven't had to lock a thread here yet and neither has Jack to my knowledge. This thread wasn't even close to getting shut down. Some things a forum cannot relay is someone's tone and body language. But we've all seemed to understand each other here and I think we still do. I'm glad that you have brought this up. This is the type of discussion we need. It makes me think of weapon choices as I consider an outing. Another thread may make us think of what to carry/how to carry it/where to make our beds for the night etc. . . You get the picture. This is healthy conversation.

[Peter Remling]

You know guys I hope my tone here isn't taken the wrong way. It's easy to forget that our true emotion can be misunderstood when typing on a forum. Thanks for the opinions and the discussion. The catalyst for this is the fact that no matter the scabbard, no matter the oil, I'm always fighting a battle against rust. It may have to do with the fact I live on protected marshlands on an island that's super humid all summer. There's a marsh right across the street from my house. Hell my refrigerator has rust spots that have to be cleaned. I may have a different experience, and opinion, when we move out of the swamp of sorrow to the misty mountains in a year or two.

Hey Mike, Where exactly are the rust flecks appearing, on what brands of swords and are the scabbards lined and with what? A few other questions that may seem meaningless, If you hold the sword upside down in the scabbard how long does it take to fall out and what oil are you useing?
I have wetlands 100 feet from my house, not a salt marsh, but wetlands. I use mineral oil, the thick nasty medicinal stuff. I know a lot of folkes hate it but it's easy to see when it's covering, slow to evaporate and is quite noticable when you over coat. It also has the advantage that it's slow to be absorbed into leather, so if you do over oil you can wipe off the excess before it starts to stain the leather.

[mcapanelli]

I've never thought of using mineral oil. I've used coji(SP) oil but never straight up like mineral oil like that. And to answer your question these swords don't have homes yet. I'm in the process of rolling over a bunch of stuff and the new stuff is homeless at the moment. Brian at DBK won't be able to fit me in till April of next year. I'd like to give break free clp a try but I can't ever seem to find it at the local hardware store.

[R.D.Metcalf]

"I have always used a liberal spray of ole wd-40 ( i know not authentic) in my scabbards. even the wood scabbards, where i live in the mountains it can get a bit humid. especialy this time of year"

I've done/still do that myself....Like I said I just wanted to be contrary BTW I'm in North West N.C. hope to see you around sometime


Mike, Wal-Mart carries break free.

[Gareth]

...

[Eledhwen]

I've gone the route of lining the scabbard with wool, sheepskin if I can. Then I make sure it gets saturated with the oil I use for the blade. Someone once told me this was in fact an actual method at some point in history but I have never bothered to look into it so I couldn't say. It is a bit more fiddly to get right when building the scabbard and I've thus far used it only with wooden scabbards so I don't know how it would work with leather, but it is doable.

Siani

[hesinraca]

I agree 100%, Cedric. my motto echoes yours: "its easy to take metal off but its mighty hard to make it grow back".

And man, if you figure out a good way to grow metal back, don't tell ANYONE until you get a patent;)

Also, to Mcapanelli, mineral oil as far as I was taught is less for a constant use, in the scabbard knife and more for a longer term storage. Mostly because it's generally thicker and you don't want it in your food (laxatives, yay). On the plus side, it will, as far as I know, never go rancid.


And siani is right, building a scabbard with the wool lining isn't as easy. I think we should do some research and find out where this method was used because one of the first bladesmiths I worked with in the SCA swears by it. He always did leather scabbards, but the biggest annoyance I had without the more rigid form, the wool gets caught on the point if the sheath deforms or flexes... which gets really annoying...

[hesinraca]

I have always used a liberal spray of ole wd-40 ( i know not authentic) in my scabbards.

I don't know if its made the same way still, but the original wd40 was more or less an all natural attempt at extreme waterproofing. 'Water displacement: recipe 40'.

And after looking it up it seams I am wrong, buahaha:
* 50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits -- primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients


Almost scary...

[R.D.Metcalf]

And siani is right, building a scabbard with the wool lining isn't as easy. I think we should do some research and find out where this method was used because one of the first bladesmiths I worked with in the SCA swears by it. He always did leather scabbards, but the biggest annoyance I had without the more rigid form, the wool gets caught on the point if the sheath deforms or flexes... which gets really annoying...

The lining of scabbards with shearling is documented in Viking/ Anglo-Saxon finds. Kim Siddorns book "Viking Weapons and Warfare" details some of these finds. Its also worth a mention that in at least one case hair-on deerskin was also used as a lining. Also worth a look is: "The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England" by Hilda Ellis Davidson.

Some other resources are 'English Warrior: From Earliest Times Till 1066" by Stephen Pollington and 'Anglo-Saxon weapons and Warfare' by Richard Underwood.

[Gareth]

...

[DavidMc]

HI all,

Excellent thread. It's nice to see this kind of discussion happening.

Firstly, I apologize if this seems like another "hit and run." My time is exceedingly full right now (and will be for the next eight months or so) so I'm keeping a fairly low profile. Having said that:

1.) I am in full agreement with R.D.Metcalf on the issue of swords. They are fit to the task they were made for-- that is why they have continued to be used for thousands of years in precisely the kinds of setting that Middle Earth rangers would have been familiar with.

2) Willrett wrote:

...if you are all up in the $h!t then a hammer or axe can be perfect but for a more fringe fighter a spear might be a good choice.

I'm going to disagree with this. We often, today, view the spear as a primitive, unwieldy, poor man's weapon. The truth of the matter is, it is one of the most effective (and therefore ubiquitous) weapons ever made. The spear was as much for the "scrum" as it was for the fringes, and you wouldn't want to run into the fray being the only person without one.

My thoughts, anyway.