Brian Wolfe

This next series of photos shows the finished project. In order to “blend” the repair into the rest of the scabbard take small drops of Super Glue and place them in the area where the two pieces form the join. This takes time and patience but with perseverance you should achieve some good results. Once any groves are filled you can take a small piece of paper towel and lightly brush the partially dried glue to feather it out. After the glue blending is all done and set up take black shoe polish and blend out the repaired area some more. A final coating over the whole scabbard should complete your project. If you still need to blend the area out I would suggest a layer of melted bees wax then when dry use a stiff brush and gentle work the area you want to blend. You will always see the repair but it should be at least hard to see.

Now it’s time to glue the insert in place along with the seam edges. It’s always good to dry fit the insert and check to see that the sword goes in and out of the scabbard freely. If all works as it should then glue the insert in place. Several clamps were used to hold everything in place and maintain the shape. This is important because when the Super Glue is set, if there has been any distortion of the scabbard, you will be stuck with it (no pun intended). The photo is of the glued scabbard as it looked right after the glue had set up. You can see the repair quite clearly as no blending has been done at this stage.

If you recall I mentioned that the open side of the “C” shape was there to allow the suspension hook to go unhindered. The wide back side of the “C” goes along the seam of the scabbard. In this case the seam was split open. Normally I would sew this back together using sail makers cord, why I have that in the shop I have no idea, however this particular seam was not of the type I have worked with before being completely flat. This meant that I would have to glue the seam very carefully and hope it held. The insert would also be glued which would also help hold the seam closed of course. Being slightly paranoid I decided to paint a black strip along the insert in case the seam didn’t hold as I would not want the white insert to show. I have a small spray booth area set up for such projects so it was a simple matter of some masking tape and a can of black spray paint and, Bob’s your uncle, a potential problem was averted.

Here’s where the fun starts. Bend the plastic around the piece of soft wood and secure it with tacks etc. I have used metal push pull pins, do NOT use the plastic topped style as they may tend to melt. I had these in the shop because we also do stained glass and the metal pins won’t melt if touched by the soldering iron. You can use metal thumb tacks just as well. Once pinned in place I used a hot air paint stripper to soften the plastic and get it to hold the shape I was going for. I found out that a hot air hair drier would probably work as well. My first attempt completely melted the plastic sheet so I had to start over. Warning, hot air paint strippers are extremely hot, which I knew, but I didn’t take into consideration the melting point of the plastic I was working with. Live and learn.

This is a photo of the piece of wood over the piece of plastic. The plastic will be bent around this wood form.

Now for the tricky part; you want an elongated “C” shape for the brace, or insert. This shape is strong and once glued in place will resist bending in all directions. The width of this piece can be determined by taking a strip of the plastic scarp, if you have no scrap to this point then make some, and checking the shape of the inside of the scabbard. These swords have a long hook below the frog stud and this needs to be avoided by the insert. If you don’t then the plastic may deform out into the space where the sword will go and prevent the sword from being placed in the scabbard. The elongated “C” allows the hook device to sit between the edges of the plastic insert. To get this flat piece of plastic in the “C” shape mentioned you will need a piece of soft wood sized such as it will fit into the scabbard. This needs to be a bit small so that the plastic which will be formed around this piece of wood will also fit into the scabbard. You need to measure the scabbard where the ends are broken and NOT at the brass mouth piece as you want the plastic which will be formed around this piece of wood to fit snugly into the scabbard.

The length of the piece of plastic will depend on the sword but an eight in long piece should be sufficient. In this next photo I have set the piece of plastic against the scabbard to indicate where it will go in this particular case. You have to stay below the brass mouth piece of course.

I like to have everything cut straight and square (obsessive personality) so I have used a framing square but any straight edge will do.

The method of repair I chose was to insert a plastic brace into the scabbard so that both sides of the break would be supported. You can’t just glue the two halves together as the joint would not hold up to any degree of movement as might be experienced when showing the sword or when removing the sword for inspection. Something must be glued in that area on the inside. You could use two flat pieces of thin leather but this might not give you the support you really need. I chose a thin sheet of plastic. This is used for glass stenciling and can be found in hobby stores. In case I don’t mention it as we go through this I used glue called Super Glue with a needle point nozzle. Use the gel type as it is easier to control. Wear latex gloves and be very careful as this glue will stick skin together instantly. I’ve shown the brand name of the plastic sheet but any thin plastic will do. I don’t worry about what might be in the plastic as I always keep my swords waxed but I don’t believe this particular plastic should present a problem any way. Cut a piece the correct width off the sheet using a box cutter or some other very shape knife. I’ll get into how to determine the width later in this article.

This is a closer view of the break. Because this was an old break the edges tended to be swollen a bit. This could be ground down with a very small wire wheel in a Dremel moto-tool. If the swelling is too much your repair will show. It will show a bit anyway but removing the high ridge helps to hide it somewhat. In the case of this scabbard the edges were not too swollen so I decided not to grind any leather away.

Repairing a Broken Scabbard A few weeks ago I came into possession of a police sword to the Berks Police force; a nice artifact and quite rare. As sometimes happens the scabbard had been broken, rendering it in two pieces. The process to repair the scabbard is one that I prefer and one I am sure would make a museum curator or conservator cringe. My attitude is that a broken scabbard would have been repaired “back in the day” so why not now. If this was to museum standards the title would have been “restoring or conserving a broken scabbard” but it’s not and so this is considered a repair. At the end I will show a curved scabbard to a Staffordshire sword that was repaired, I believe, back when the sword was still in use. I offer this photo as a comparison with the one I am repairing for this post. The first couple of photos are of the scabbard as I received it. This may take several posts as I will attempt to cover the subject step by step so please be patient and “stay tuned”. Regards Brian

That's interesting, Leigh. It would be great to see if the "other" fellow was in one of their photos. A photo of a photographer taking a shot from the other side of the street. If you still have the catalouge any chance of posting a photo on the form from the other view? Regards Brian

Re: AK 47s Amen Peter, amen. I too sold off my firearms collection and with it my Lewis Gun, I have regretted it ever since. Regards Brian

Hi Eric, An interesting piece with the look of age. If it is a tourist item I would think it is indeed a very good one, One of the things that is instantly evident is that is looks to be complete, that is to say it has no missing parts such as the hand guard. Considering the point has been lost due to what one would have to assume as years of wear I'm somewhat surprise to see the hand guard intact. That's not to condem this specimen to the reproduction "file" as quite often an intact genuine artifact draws suspicion from the sceptics. I looks to me like the lines along the blade, which I would assume to be "fold" lines left from the forging of the weapon have been added after it was forged as decoration. Again that is not to say this is not an original or even a very old tourist item. I suppose I could have summed this up in one sentence by saying "I don't really know" It would be nice to have it in hand to look at it more closely but that is impossible so we'll have to hope another member has more information on this artifact. Bottom line: I like it, regardless of its origins. Thanks for posting it. Regards Brian

Thanks for your comments everyone. After writing the article I purchased a couple of bayonets off eBay, as Nick (JapanX) says, it's a sickness. Cheers Brian

Hello Stephen, Thank you for posting your medals here in the "Specials" section, they are a great group of medals and one can see that you are rightfully poud of them and your service. I agree with you on your comment regarding those who sell their medals some day regretting it. Even if they themselves never live to regret their decision you can bet family members, be it children or grand children, will lament the decision. Please do follow Mervyn's suggection and post your group under the "Post your own" section as many members will never see them under the "Special Constabulary". Regards Brian

Collecting More but Enjoying It Less? Up before dawn and after a stop at Tim Horton’s coffee shop back on the road for an hour’s drive. Arriving at the “Tim’s” located in the town or city of your destination, after all, Canadian’s plan their trips in accordance to the location of a handy Tim’s. Fresh coffee in hand you pull into the show’s parking lot and at this early hour there is almost an unlimited choice of parking spaces. Dawn has broke and you find yourself in line, hot coffee in hand to help fight off the cold chill of the morning, awaiting the minutes before the doors will be flung open allowing the flood of eager collectors and hunters to stream in. Yes, it’s Gun Show Day down Canada way! An auditorium filled to capacity with dealers and enthusiasts alike. There are guns, swords, knives, medals and sundry equipment in abundance. People talking to people of like interest and you are able to actually pick up an item, unlike the on-line auction houses wares you may have “won”. With a bit of luck and a fair bit of haggling you may be heading home in a few hours with a new treasure to add to your, collection room, war room, Rambo room or study, whatever you call your Sanctum sanctorum. Gun, militaria and medal shows are tactile and social events filled with sights (no pun intended) and sounds ranging from laughter to argument. Deals made, information and goods exchanged. They are the market places of old where customer met wares, the trading centres so important to the development of our countries and our way of life. For the past decade I have more or less turned my back on shows opting instead for the ease and convenience of the internet based auction houses such as the famous or infamous eBay. There are others though this is the one I have carried out business with. It hit me a few days ago that while I was collecting a lot more I may, in fact, be enjoying it a lot less. My mind got to wandering, which it is prone to do now that I am older, of the days when I would go fishing with my childhood buddies. On the lake in our canoes before dawn, listening to the loon song wavering over the still water. A chill in the air and the water feeling like warm tea to the touch; the joking about one of the crew having once stepped in a soft spot in the muskeg and plunging through to the putrid water below, up to his waste, while on portage. Some days the fish would bite and some days it was the mosquitoes, such is the angler’s world and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Then the years passed by, we all got busy with families and careers, some with wives and girl friends, etc. Some got side tracked with divorces when wives met girlfriends. It’s all in the timing you know. Now almost all of my boyhood friends are no longer with us, residing in a much hotter place down below us. In Florida! What were you thinking? Now I go to the supermarket and if I want fish to I pick from a vast array of different fish, both fresh and frozen. I never fail to reach my “quota” and I never provide a snack for those vampires of the insect world. I also don’t talk about the experience as it has become mundane. There is no bragging rights or accusations of exaggerating the length of a fish taken two years hence; and no defending that exaggeration - as we all know it was indeed much shorter than now claimed. Eventually my mind did return to the topic at hand and I wondered if what has happened to my pursuit of that monster bass, pickerel (walleye), pike or lake trout has happened to my collecting. You don’t have to believe this but about four months ago I swore off eBay and any other on-line auction and started once again to attend miltaria and gun shows. To my amazement the thrill of the “hunt” has returned. The crowd has changed somewhat. The majority are a lot younger and the “old boys” with their gruff exteriors and ample girths have been replaced by...(now this is depressing)...me. The last show turned up a nice little flintlock pistol and I have reacquainted with some of the dealers who are still attending. There is a trade pending involving a Brown Bess and my surplus collectables which would never have happened on eBay. This may not be the way to go for all collectors, especially the younger collector, trying to build a collection and especially if on a shoestring budget. I’m not bragging but I’ve built a good base collection and I no longer feel the need to add great qualities to the collection. So I am content to pay a bit more and collect fewer items of a bit higher quality. Many of these items are not available on the internet auctions and it is always best if you can handle collectables that are more expensive and rarer. So for me, I am now collecting less and enjoying it more, a lot more. Regards Brian

Hello Paul, Welcome to the GMIC. You are more than welcome to use any of my material you find fitting. I'll contact you via email a bit later. Regards Brian

A real treasure to be sure. Thanks for sharing them with us, very interesting. Regards Brian

Hello Fellows, Sorry that I have not been able to add to this post yet this weekend as I have been tied up restoring a number of collectables in the shop. More on that another time. The document I have posted is actually from a local Legion Branch with a Silver Cross Mother's Association. These associations raised money and lent moral support to those women who lost loved ones in the wars. This came my way as it was it being discarded after a local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion moved into new quarters. It had remained behind for several years along with many other artifacts such as trophys and executive membership lists in bronze on wooded plaques in the former Legion Branch building. This particular document was on its way to the garbage dump when I rescued it as the building was slated for demolition. The owner of the building granted me salvage to anything I wanted from the interior, just to be clear on the legalities of my right of ownership. As to rarity, I would say that you will not see many, if any, others in the hands of a private collector. From what I understand not all Legion Branches had Silver Cross Mother's Associations and many that did have them have long since been disbanded. At best this would mean that there were less documents than number of Legion Branches and fewer yet that would have survived once the Branch's Silver Cross Associations were disbanded. A rare document and one that still survives only through luck. Regards Brian

Hello Everyone, There are certain items that have become iconic in history, Martini-Henry rifles, Japanese Swords, Bobby's Helmet, some uniforms and in the case of the post link below the military sun helmet. This is a very interesting and informitive website and if you have even the slightest interest in sun helmets I suggest you check it out. http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/ Regards Brian

Hello Everyone. I could have sworn that I had posted a photo of this Canadian Memorial Cross Association document before but I cannot find it on the forum so I must have been mistaken. Oh, for a doller evertime I have been wrong... It was my intention to repalce the previous photo, which I now can't locate, with a better one taken with the document out of the frame. I had taken it out of the frame a couple of weeks ago to send a photo to a fellow who contacted me regarding a Memorial Cross he has. Once out of the frame I decided to do some conservation work such as replacing the backing with acid-free cardboard and applying a dust cover to the back. Since I am not prepared to write a history of the Canadian Memorial Cross at this time I will simply post a photo of the document, now it is out of the frame, and add photos of the crosses from the collection and the history another time. If any of the members would like to start this off please feel free to do so. Regards Brian

An excellent example, Mervyn. I think this was the most elegant sword ever produced. Thanks for posting it. Regards Brian

Nice specimen Mike, thanks for posting it. I always like to see older posts such as this one (started Jan. 2006) brought back to life. So often interesting posts get rotated down the list and are as much as lost under the volume of posts received. Regards Brian

Hello Mervyn, This is indeed an interesting and no doubt an extremely rare document. It brings to light that there was a movement toward independence within India during the war and, of course, well before that era. It's nice for us in the West to think that everyone was "on board" with the Empire against the Axis alliance but this is simply not the truth, not 100% at least. There were factions even here in Canada that did not support joining in the struggle against Germany, Italy and Japan. Many of the Indian soldiers who joined with Japan suffered the fate of traitors at the end of hostilities and, to me at least, it is a waste. I say this as I do not believe that the Japanese would have treated the Indian nation any differently than any other non-Japanese race as that was not in keepng with their policies of the day. The same is true, I believe, of Nazi Germany. Had they defeated the Eastern peoples (including Russia) they would not have treated them as welcomed additions to the German "empire". So, again in my opinion, the efforts to bring about an independent India through alliance with japan was doomed to fail regardless ot the out come of the war. Thanks for posting these important specimens, not to mention giving me an opportunity to climb onto my soap box to deliver an historialy based rant. Regards Brian