Routine Care and Rust Prevention
For both costume and combat swords, corrosion and accumulated damage are the principal enemies. Both require regular attention. A stage sword is not merely a prop; it is also a piece of safety equipment. As its condition declines, so does the safety of everyone on stage.
Between productions, remove all weapons from leather sheaths. Leather absorbs and retains moisture, and prolonged storage in a sheath can corrode the blade while also damaging the leather. Clean and protect the blade before storing it in a dry location.
Avoid handling the blade with an un-gloved hand. This helps prevent cuts and scrapes, but it also protects the steel. Perspiration and natural skin oils leave salts and other residue upon the blade, encouraging corrosion. A neglected fingerprint can eventually leave a permanent mark in the steel.
After handling or using the sword, wipe the blade with a clean, dry cloth. Apply a light coating of machine oil or another suitable rust-preventive oil as needed. During a normal production, oiling every few weeks may be sufficient, but weapons used frequently in rehearsal should be inspected and treated more often. For long-term storage, a protective coating of heavy grease or paste wax may be used.
Never leave a weapon lying on grass or stick its point into the ground. Grass, soil, and outdoor surfaces expose the steel to moisture, grit, and corrosive material.
When rust appears, remove it promptly. Light surface rust can usually be treated with very fine steel wool or fine emery cloth used carefully with oil. Begin with the mildest abrasive that will do the job; unnecessarily aggressive abrasion can damage the finish and remove sound metal.
If makeup or stage blood gets on the weapon, clean it off as soon as possible. Many theatrical products contain water, salts, sugars, dyes, or other ingredients that can attack the steel. Do not put the weapon away for the night intending to clean it in the morning.
Temper and Heat
Temper is the condition produced by the controlled heat treatment of steel. That treatment helps determine the blade’s hardness, strength, toughness, and ability to flex without remaining bent or breaking. Different kinds of blades are intentionally given different combinations of these qualities.
A fight-grade blade must strike a careful balance. If the steel is too hard and lacks sufficient toughness, it may chip or break. If it is too soft, it may bend permanently, become deeply nicked, or wear rapidly. A well-made stage-combat blade is therefore resilient enough to absorb repeated impacts without being either dangerously brittle or easily deformed.
Ordinary use does not gradually cause a blade to lose its temper. Repeated impacts can nevertheless produce metal fatigue, enlarge existing flaws, or permanently bend the blade. These forms of damage are discussed in the following section.
Temper can be damaged by excessive heat. Grinding, welding, brazing, or other concentrated heating may alter the heat-treated structure of the steel, leaving part of the blade softer or more brittle than intended. To protect the blade:
- Do not allow power tools to overheat the steel. For minor burrs or nicks, use a hand file and remove only as much metal as necessary.
- Do not weld, braze, or otherwise heat a fight-grade blade unless the work is performed by someone qualified to repair and re-heat-treat sword blades.
- Disassemble the sword before making repairs when disassembly is necessary and the sword’s construction permits it. Do not attempt to dismantle a permanently peened hilt merely as a routine precaution.
- Do not store a thin blade under continuous bending pressure or with its point bearing the sword’s weight. This will not destroy the temper, but it may eventually leave the blade bent or damage the point.
- Avoid exposing weapons to severe or rapid temperature changes. Ordinary seasonal temperatures will not ruin the temper, but they can encourage condensation, affect lubricants and adhesives, and cause fittings to expand or contract.
Stress and Metal Fatigue
All swords can break. A blade may fail suddenly during a fight even though it appeared sound beforehand. The final blow may be no harder than many the sword has already survived; it is merely the blow that enlarges an existing weakness beyond what the steel can withstand.
Every impact loads and flexes the blade. Repeated loading can eventually initiate or enlarge fatigue cracks, particularly around nicks, manufacturing flaws, abrupt changes in thickness, and other points where stress becomes concentrated. Much of this damage may remain invisible until the blade bends or breaks. Fatigue is therefore cumulative, but it is not the same as loss of temper. NIST
A sword may also contain residual stresses left by forging, grinding, welding, or heat treatment. On many stage swords, tightening the pommel places the assembled hilt under additional tension. Neither kind of stress can be measured by how clearly the sword rings.
When struck, a sword vibrates. Whether it rings clearly or becomes quiet almost immediately depends upon the blade, the construction of the hilt, and how readily the handle and fittings absorb that vibration. A sword that rings is not necessarily strong, and one that does not ring is not necessarily weak.
Repeated impacts and vibration can nevertheless cause threaded pommels and other fittings to work loose. Check the pommel, guard, handle, and all other fittings before every rehearsal and performance. Do not overtighten the pommel merely to make the sword ring. Tighten it firmly by hand; if alignment requires it, use a wrench only for the small additional turn necessary. Excessive tightening can damage threads, compress the handle, or place unnecessary strain upon the assembly. Vibration-induced loosening and damage from either insufficient or excessive preload are recognized problems in threaded joints. NASA
Listen to the sword as part of this inspection. Ring or no ring does not matter – but a change in sound may indicate a loose fitting, a developing crack, or some other alteration in the weapon. Remove the sword from use until the cause has been found. Sound alone should never be treated as proof that a sword is safe.
Safe Use
The greatest external stresses come from blade contact, falls, and other impacts during use. Actors must be thoroughly grounded in stage-combat technique, and every fight should be choreographed or approved by a qualified fight director or stage-combat choreographer. Experience in competitive fencing does not by itself provide that qualification. Sporting techniques are designed for a different purpose and should not simply be transferred to theatrical combat.
No actor should ever be placed in the position of having to block in order to avoid being struck. Discipline, distance, and control have no substitutes.
If a sword must contact another weapon—even once—or must be dropped as part of the action, it must be a fight-grade weapon suitable for that particular use. Costume-grade swords should be carried, worn, or drawn only as their construction permits; many are not safe even for vigorous flourishing.
Stage managers, props personnel, and fight directors should inspect every sword before each rehearsal and performance. Loose fittings, cracks, new bends, deep nicks, or any unexplained change in the weapon’s sound or behavior are reasons to remove it from use immediately.
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