Taking Care of Your Archangel Steel Works

Please, don’t store your sword in the sheath over any kind of long term period. The sheath is meant for transport, handling, and wearing, rather than storage, as sheaths can hold moisture near the steel and cause rusting. A great strategy is to hang your sword collection on your walls as art. That’s what we do.

Your sword is made of high-carbon steel, heat treat hardened in the salt bath method. Thus, it is fabulous at holding an edge and has great durability, but needs to be cared for properly. You should oil your blade monthly and/or after each use and handling, especially if your fingers (skin oils/acids) have touched the steel. Lately we’ve been using an automotive rust prohibitive called Fluid Film in our armory and shipping area. It is the best product we’ve used for preventing oxidation on the high carbon steel we work with and it’s inexpensive and easily accessible. It’s available at any automotive store. We also use PB Blaster PB-50 Lubricant, which gives a nice shine to the steel.
After you handle your sword, especially if finger marks have been left on it, the steel should be gently rubbed down with oil. Finger oils and acidity on high carbon steel makes it more vulnerable to oxidation in the places that were touched.

There are special oils, such as Hanwei Sword Oil, which are made for care of blades, but if you have 3-in-1 Oil, machine/sewing machine oil, gun oil, or Vaseline, those will work. In a pinch, you can use WD40, but I would get a better product for long-term care of your high-carbon blades. You will want to use a product that leaves a thin, penetrative, protective barrier to prevent rusting. WD40 evaporates pretty rapidly, so it is not an ideal solution for this purpose.

For long-term storage, you might consider trying Renaissance Wax. It was developed by a British Museum specifically for protecting their artifacts. The wonderful thing about Renaissance Wax is that it was developed to care for and to preserve wood, leather, marble, paintings, and metals on display for long periods of time. Thus, you can safely use it on both the steel and the leather wrapped handle.  Use it sparingly all over your sword, including the handle, and then hang your sword on your wall. Depending upon the humidity in your air, a very thin coating will create a barrier between your high carbon steel and the air that should last a few months. Get in the habit of reapplying a bit more often during very humid seasons.

Please be careful to not make your grip slippery with too much oil. Use any leather oil, such as the Renaissance Wax or neatsfoot oil, sparingly on the sword handle. I would note though, that most people wear leather gloves when using swords, because gloves help protect the hands and give a better grip.

Also, please be aware that conditioning leather tends to darken it, however, by the time you've received a weapon from us, the handle has typically already been oiled at least once.

I also want to caution you to be very careful when cleaning your sharp blades. I wear gloves when cleaning and handling the swords. This also helps me avoid getting my hand oils on the blades. Thick leather or some other cut-resistant glove material works well.

When I am taking photos of the swords, I clean and oil them first and I use a lint-free cloth to wipe the excess oil off. Inexpensive lint-free rags can be very commonly found at any local hardware or automotive store.

While Archangel steel weapons are very strong, we don’t create them for the purpose of chopping logs and other hard impacts with dense, unmovable objects. As weaponry, our art is designed to cut through steel plate armor and flesh, “battle ready”. Our work isn't meant to be used as backyard tools. Let us know if you intend to do yard chores with them and we can add extra welds to help them take the abuse.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions. We can be reached via our website, our Etsy store, or any of the major social media networks where we have accounts, and we are very quick to respond. The links for all of them are at the bottom of each of our pages here.