Why blunt steel deteriorates
A training weapon of blunt steel has no edge, but every parry and every strike on the edges leaves a nick or a burr, meaning a bent, sharp sliver of metal. Tournament rules require edges free of burrs and deep nicks precisely because these can catch and tear protective gear or tear the skin. The second enemy is rust: sweat and fingerprints collect mainly near the guard, and if you do not clean the blade after training, one source says it will start rusting within two to three days. The third is the hilt, which loosens over time and whose wrap deforms.
After every training session
Wipe the whole blade with a soft cloth, not just the visible smudge, and especially the area near the guard. At home, take the weapon out of its bag right away; do not leave it with wet, sweaty clothing, and do not store it in a car boot, where, according to sources, exhaust fumes also cause harm. Then apply a very thin layer of oil or microcrystalline wax that does not look greasy. Sources mention weapon oil, camellia oil and, historically, even tallow. Avoid thin lubricant sprays, because they evaporate quickly and leave the steel unprotected.
Sources disagree on frequency: one fencing school advises oiling after every training session or at least once a week, another article states a thin layer once a month, and once a week in humid or coastal climates. The more often you use the weapon and the more you sweat on it, the closer you should stay to the first recommendation.
Inspection before training
Before every use, examine the blade in good light, turning it so the edges catch the light. Then run your fingers lightly along both edges and along the tip, looking for rough spots; mark any problem spots with a marker and fix them before using the weapon against a partner.
The tip must be turned, widened or fitted with a tip protector; one tournament's rules require this to bring the tip's width to at least 1 cm, and any removable tips of metal, rubber or leather must be secured with strong tape. Check that the tip protector is not cracking and does not sit loosely.
Look along the blade. Tournament rules allow a slight bend, but not an S-shaped curve or a hard, dangerous bend. The blade's flex is checked by the tournament's weapons inspector with a bend test; the exact values differ — one tournament requires a visible bend in a longsword under a 10 kg load, another sets an upper limit of 14.5 kg. Always read that tournament's own rules beforehand.
Check the hilt. If the guard or pommel is loose and the weapon has a bolted assembly, loosen the locking nut a little, tighten the pommel by hand until the guard sits firmly, and retighten the nut appropriately. When the grip has crushed or sunken spots near its lower edges, it is time to replace it. A gap between the grip and the guard can be temporarily filled with thin waxed cord or a strip of leather, but only as a stopgap. If the weapon creaks or vibrates unusually, contact the manufacturer for a new one, or, for a used one, remove the grip and check the tang for a crack.
Grinding down burrs and nicks
Work by hand only. An electric grinder overheats the metal and ruins its hardening. Grind or file a burr back into the edge's natural line, checking continuously with your fingers. Smooth out a rounded nick with a fine file or stone from both sides until, viewed along the edge, no bulge remains. Carefully round off a V-shaped nick with a round file until all sharp corners disappear; as one source puts it, a rounded nick is better than a dangerous blade. A nick deeper than roughly 2 mm should be assessed by an expert. Treat damaged corners of the guard and pommel the same way.
For final finishing, use abrasive papers or sponges from coarse to fine grit, for example a 320-grit sanding block with lubricant, working with lengthwise strokes in one direction toward the tip so no cross scratches form. Sources disagree on the first step: one recommends first tapping down burrs with a ball-head hammer and only then filing, others describe only filing and grinding.
Rust
Light surface discolouration on a blade that is otherwise shiny is, according to the manufacturer, no cause for concern. Remove early rust right away: with a fine synthetic abrasive pad or 0000 grade steel wool with a little oil, then apply protective oil. Tournament rules require a weapon free of active surface rust.
When to retire a weapon
Retire a weapon with any crack, regardless of size, immediately; sources agree on this. A blade with an S-shaped or hard bend, with burrs and deep nicks that cannot be ground out, with a non-compliant tip, or with active rust does not belong at a tournament. Organisers reserve the right to ban any weapon they consider dangerous at any time.
Storage and transport
Never put the weapon away wet, and do not leave it in its sheath long-term; one source explicitly rejects leather sheaths. Sources disagree on long-term storage: one advises coating the blade heavily with petroleum jelly and wrapping it in rags in a cool, dry place, another recommends only a thin layer of oil or wax and wrapping it in clean, dry cloth.
Common mistakes
The most common causes of damage are a weapon left in a bag with wet clothing, a thin spray used instead of oil, an electric grinder used on burrs, ignoring a loose hilt, and continuing to train with a cracked blade.
Which weapons this applies to
This guide applies to federschwerter and blunt longswords, sword-and-buckler swords, messers, sparring sabres, rapiers, smallswords and blunt training daggers made of steel.