Chinese sword stands

I'm always on the lookout for different ways to display swords. These days, there are more and more Chinese-style stands on the market, but so far I've not been tempted by any that I've seen. Also, I must confess that I've never felt right using Japanese sword stands, they somehow seem inappropriate for displaying Chinese swords. However, with a bit of imagination, one can find other solutions....

Qing jian supported by two Pi Xie

These stands are Shiwan ceramic Pi Xie. Beautiful quality. They are a nice size, very stable, and hold blades at an ideal angle for table-top display.  Bought from an online Feng Shui supplier. 

The sword is a Qing dynasty jian. It has a 26 1/2" blade, brass fittings and a precious wood handle. The blade has numerous battle scars and it has been re-polished many times over it's working life. A very nice sword with superb handling.

Shiwan ceramic Pi Xie

I'm not sure that Feng Shui masters would approve of this particular use of Pi Xie, but they do make very attractive and dramatic sword supports!

Removing rust spots

When removing rust spots from blades it is important to use something that is harder than the rust but softer than the steel blade. Abrasive papers are too hard and will leave scratches in the steel, and surprisingly so will ordinary steel wool. Stainless steel however, is harder than rust but softer than blade steel.

Stainless steel wool and wax modelling tools

So, for removing light rust deposits stainless steel wool is ideal.  This is not usually available at hardware stores but can be obtained from automotive suppliers where it is used for filling exhausts. Thicker accumulations of rust are more difficult to remove but they can be carefully scraped away using stainless steel wax modelling tools and then any remaining rust can be removed with the steel wool.

Knuckle-guard jian

This is a rather unusual sword. Chinese jian blades can be found with a wide variety of hilt fittings, but this is the first time that I've seen one fitted up with a knuckle-guard.

Overall length - 26" [ 660mm] 

Blade length - 21 3/4" [554mm] 

Weight - 627g

The blade is very worn and shows unmistakeable signs of combat. The knuckle-guard is probably not original to the blade. Surprisingly, the sword does play quite well, but of course it is limited in movement by the guard. This somewhat restricts the flexibility of the wrist and has an effect on the balance so that the sword behaves more like a straight bladed zhibeidao than like a jian.

The short grip is made of a dense, light coloured hardwood with a thin coating of lacquer. The wood has been crudely cut to size and no attempt has been made to achieve a smooth finish or to remove any tool marks. None-the-less, the grip is quite comfortable to hold, and the irregular surface seems to be an advantage here.

The fittings are typically Chinese in style. Nicely functional, iron, wrought by hand.