Removing sword from scabbard

One of our museum's volunteers is a sword collector and has asked my
advice on freeing a sword he recently purchased that is stuck within
its scabbard.  The owner says that he believes it is a British
sergeant's sword from approximately the 1830's.

There is no movement at all between the sword and scabbard.  I can
see the top bit of the steel blade and it has some surface Fe
corrosion visible.  The scabbard is leather with brass collar and
tip.  The brass collar slides freely down the scabbard several
inches.  The leather appears to have shrunken slightly beneath the
collar, and this area has some shiny residue (adhesive? old leather
dressing residues?) on the leather.  There is a dent in the brass
tip, so that may be the point where it is seized.  Apart from the
usual old brass polish residues in the recessed areas, a bit of
abrasion on the leather and the corrosion on the blade, the sword
and scabbard are in good condition.

Does anyone have advice for what we might try in order to free the
blade from the scabbard?

Dee Stubbs-Lee, CAPC, MA
Conservator
New Brunswick Museum
277 Douglas Avenue
Saint John
New Brunswick E2K 1E5
Canada
506-643-2341


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:42
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 30, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-42-009
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