David,
Have you tried x-raying the objects?  The recent advances in the digital
scanning, capture and manipulation of x-rays have made it possible to
access a lot of detail that might not have been immediately visible in
conventional film based x-rays (where the eye only recognizes about 40
of the 2000 plus shades of gray that are present).
Emily Williams


Date:    Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:49:32 -0500
From:    [log in to unmask]
Subject: recovering worn inscriptions on steel

Posting for David Zincavage:
> Would anyone be able to refer me to information on techniques for
recovery
> of worn inscriptions on metal?=A0 The objects I'd be dealing with
would
> typically be arms amd armor, and consequently iron or steel.
>=20
> David Zincavage
>=20
> Here are some photos of examples: incomplete worn-away images of a
stag
> (probably the makers mark of a member of the Berns family of Solignen,
> possibly Meves Berns fl. c. 1650).
>=20
> http://zincavage.org/Hirschfanger.htm
>=20