Hewer dagger authentic?

[Rakkasan187]

I really appreciate all the information I have gotten about this. I was wondering how would you go about restoring a hewer like this without damaging it?

It takes a lot of time and care. You must use the correct materials, very, very, fine gauged steel wool and proper chemicals, but even with the steel wool you risk leaving microscopic scratches on the blade and other metal parts which will seriously degrade the price post restoration. Some collectors frown on restorations while others encourage it, but in my opinion it is better to invest the money in a hewer that is near perfect instead of spending additional time (and money) on a restoration project.

Just my thoughts, since I work at a museum we are more in the preservation mode than restoration mode of caring for our artifacts. We try to prevent any further damage or deterioration. We do not do any restorations as this can alter the original make up of particular artifacts. Preventative maintenance, constant observations, proper handling (always with gloves on) and when we notice something needing conservation we advise our collections conservators and these experts will evaluate the artifacts and recommend (or not) the best measures to prevent further degradation.

Smitty