UBB.threads Forums General Interest Restoration, Conservation, and Maintenance Forum coldness...!??

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!!

Please I need your advise. I live in a humid and hot place. In order ot preserve my dagger I moved it to another place with "better weather" (I hope). Now, it is in a place with A/C and humidity controled (18 grades C more or less). Today I went to move it from one locker to the next. I forgot to bring my gloves, so I took the dagger with my naked hands. It was cold, not freezing but cold. Now, I have two questions: Is this coldness bad for the dagger? (Blade, scabbard, celluloid grip, etc), and, how is the blade better conserved; inside the scabbard or outside it? (in any temperature, now my dagger is in 17 to 18 grades C storege place, she is cold).

Thanks a lot for any comments.

Fernando

Hello Fernando,

It is not the temperature per se, but humidity and moisture that is the biggest threat to the dagger. Also, if a dagger is moved from a very cold area to a hot and humid one in a short time, condensation will quickly form.

Temperature changes are a problem as well. The cellulose handles of daggers such as the Rifle Association and the Navy can crack when exposed to rapid temperature changes. This has happened when the daggers are shipped home in luggage on an aircraft, and the temperature in the baggage hold can go down to minus 35 degrees C.

Temperature and moisture changes also affect wood handles. The wood may receed or expand due to changes in either temperature or moisture, resutling in either gaps between the handle and the fittings, or cracks in the handle itself.

The best atmosphere for your dagger is low moisture and average room temperature. Silicone gel bags can help with reducing moisture, and there are plenty of other solutions out there.

Thank you Borse.

You said about 35 minus zero C can cause cracks in the celluloid, what about 18 C?
Now, I think I must be carefull when I take my dagger back home (at home the temperature will be above 30 C!!), because of the temperature change.

greatings

Fernando