Cleaning a Swedish Mauser Bayonet

Alex_Zues

Alex_Zues

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Sasquatchewan, the flat part
Hey all, I recently bought a swedish mauser 96 bayonet for what was originally a good price (then the seller $@#'d me over with unforseen shipping costs, but that's another story). The bayonet's complete, but fairly rusted over. I'd like to clean it up a bit. What's a good process to undergo?

If folks want pictures I can post once I find a camera.
 
FFFF steel wool, dry to get the bulk of the rust, then with some form of oil. WD-40 would probably work, or varsol. I use an automotive parts waster, so I don't know 100% what is in it, but it is mostly varsol.
 
Depending on how deep the pits go or how thoroughly rusted it is you may want to re-clete the iron chemically which converts the red rust back to grey iron.
Pics would help with proper diagnosis.
 
Hopefully this will give you an idea of how it's doing.


Here's the sheath

SDC13751.jpg


Handle

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Blade

SDC13748.jpg


The stamps. In the second/third picture you can somewhat make out an anchor, so I figure this was for the Swedish navy

SDC13743.jpg


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Here's it put together, my camera isn't the worlds best.

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For heaven's sake put some oil on this poor little thing!

How can any human in his right mind ship you anything in this condition?


A combination of gun oil and 0000 steel wool should take care of 95% of that ugly rust.
 
I would ask for my money back if I spend more than $10.00. It won't hurt the value even if you used a grinder. It has no collector value.
Did you get pictures before your purchase?
Use 0000 wool and oil if it is lite rust it might look like something. Polish the blade after an attempt to clean it.
 
That can be cleaned up, but micro-pitting will remain. These are readily available in fine condition, so that one is only worth maybe $10 as stated. I would not have bought it that state.
 
I had pictures and the cost was right, but the seller lead me to believe shipping would be minimal. Then I was hit with an invoice which cost twice that of the bayonet. Sounds like my best bet is to clean it, and turn it into a home paper weight with character.
 
Go to the web site and see if there is anything special about it. Some have earlier stud releases on them.

If your bayo is not special or unusual - clean it up, put an edge on it and use it as a hunting knife.
 
A few weeks ago I said I would, I did, and didn't take any photos 'till now. Hopefully this will cheer up those who were distraught when they saw its initial condition.
There's still a few dark spots which could use more polishing, but I'd say it's way ahead of where it used to be.

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