So while at a Renaissance Fair over Memorial Weekend, I found a rusted claymore in a weapons shop and decided to try restoring it. It's going a lot better than I thought it would, and I've already completed one side of the blade and am working on the other.
I'm not going for a complete restoration, since I do want the blade to retain something of a "used" look, and eventually I plan to etch it with designs and patterns of some kind...probably going to go the fantastical route, though I haven't decided what motif(s) to use yet. Maybe I'll make it a demon hunter's blade or something. Then I have to look at getting a scabbard made; still undecided on full or partial/'quick release' design.
Anyway, here's pics of the progress so far:
Unfinished...
...vs finished
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7382/sword3.jpghttp://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2347/sword4y.jpghttp://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6942/sword5.jpgTwo full shots depicting the contrast between the rusted and cleaned sides. The cleaned side was slightly worse, and the rust shown on the unworked side is darker than what the lighting of the photo shows.
Closeup of the unfinished side. The blade is almost completely obscured by rust here...
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1129/sword6.jpg...and this is what it'll look like when gone.
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/8421/sword7.jpg
