[This is a very condensed extract from – “The Textbook of Theatrical Combat ©“. All rights reserved]
For both costume and combat swords, rust and stress are the main villains. Both are always present, and both must be looked to at every opportunity. Maintaining the temper of the steel is a vital long-term goal. A stage sword is both a tool and a piece of safety equipment; when its condition declines, so does the safety of everyone on stage.
- Refrain from grabbing the blade with an ungloved hand. Not only will this prevent cuts and scrapes, but our hands contain oils rich in salts. Salts attract airborne water vapor; water creates rust. A single fingerprint can begin microscopic corrosion within minutes and can even leave a permanent etching in the steel if ignored..
- Oil from time to time with a light weight machine oil or WD-4O (or heavy grease or car wax for long term storage). For normal productions a light oiling every few weeks is usually sufficient, with more frequent treatment during fight-heavy rehearsal periods.
- Never leave weapons lying on grass; never stick the tip into the ground.
- When rust is spotted, remove it. Use a dull emery cloth or fine steel wool (much easier than heavy abrasives).
- If makeup or stage blood gets on the weapon, remove it as soon as possible. Don’t put it away for the night with the idea of cleaning it in the morning. You’ll have a very deep rust hole by then.
TEMPER – is that combination of strength, flexibility, and “springiness” which is built into the steel, and will vary from blade to blade, often on purpose. Temper is a balance: too stiff a blade is also too brittle and can shatter. Too soft a blade will gouge easily. A simple way to think of temper is to imagine a coiled spring — firm enough to hold shape, flexible enough to absorb force.
Temper is lost by stressing the blade and also by excessive heating and cooling of the blade, so for long-term care of the weapon practice the following:
- avoid storing thin-bladed swords with the tips resting on the floor. Constant downward pressure can slowly warp the blade
- keep weapons away from extremes of temperature.
- never allow power machinery to build-up heat on the blade (so use a hand-file to bring down burrs and nicks). Heat can permanently alter the crystal structure of the steel and ruin the temper.
- always disassemble a sword when repairs to any part are necessary.
- unless you have experience in cutlery tempering, never attempt to weld or braze a fight-grade sword blade.
STRESS: All weapons can break. It is unfortunate but true. Even a broadsword can snap in half in the middle of a fight and it will give no warning before it happens. That is because swords are constantly under a great deal of stress, and sometimes adding just a little bit more can be the little bit that causes it to break. Where does stress come from? Either internally or externally.
Internal stress comes from simply building the sword.
Swords are made of several parts, all held together by tightening the pommel down. In order for a sword to ring when struck, the pommel must be tightened down quite a bit, but therein lies a quandary. Ringing steel is just the aural manifestation of unrelieved stress, a vibration within the blade – the more you hear, the more you have. If the ringing isn’t there, it means that the stress, the vibration, has been converted to heat very quickly, usually by being absorbed into a wooden handle. And that might actually prolong the life of the sword.
The ringing has nothing to do with the fight-worthiness of the sword. I can build a sword out of non-tempered aluminum and have it ring like a bell. I can also make a powerful steel sword that doesn’t ring at all.
The The entire time that a blade is ringing, that unrelieved stress — the vibration — is working to loosen the pommel. Pommel-loosening can also occur for a quieter reason: all metals expand and contract with changes in temperature. As the metal cools and contracts, it can relieve pressure on the threaded tang, allowing the pommel to back off slightly during use. Because both of these processes are subtle and often silent, the pommel should be checked and tightened routinely so the sword remains safely assembled.
Those same vibrations that loosen the pommel are also opening up micro-fractures within the blade itself. Over time, those micro-fractures can grow large enough to create a structural weakness, and eventually the blade can fail. Tightening the pommel does not prevent that; it simply prevents the fittings from loosening. So tighten the pommel as much as you need, but listen to the sword as well. Ring, no ring – doesn’t matter. But a change in the sound could mean that your sword has begun to loosen.
External stress is the banging of swords when in use. Naturally you need to use the swords, but always make sure that the actors are well grounded in good stage combat basics. All fights should be choreographed by an experienced stage combat instructor. (Not necessarily a fencing instructor. The techniques of competitive fencing are unsafe for both actors and swords. Fencing is built on fast, tip-driven strikes made to score points — the opposite of controlled, shared storytelling.)
No actor should ever be in the position of having to make a block in order to save her or his life. Discipline and control have no substitute.
If a sword must touch another sword, even if only once, or must be dropped at any time, only a fight-grade blade must be used. If the sword is merely going to be drawn and flourished, a costume grade blade may be used. And for stage managers, props personnel, and fight directors: checking pommels and fittings before each rehearsal and performance is one of the simplest and most effective safety measures you can take.
Do you have other questions? Need specifics? Feel free to ask!