Need Help With Translation

[kusunokimasahige]

Do not clean the blade with any abrasives or even sand it. You would destroy the sword and its value.

 

You can clean the blade by using acetone or medicinal Alcohol to remove the tape residu.

 

Then oil it with sowing machine oil or clove oil. Do not use gun oil since it can become sticky.

 

If I were you, especially with this sword, I would save up money to have it polished by a proper trained Togishi ( polisher of Nihon-to.) It might set you back a thousand dollars or two, but you will have a blade which is worth more and in which all the aspects can be enjoyed to the fullest.

 

Never clean or polish the nakago (tang). That also would be detrimental to the sword.

 

KM

[Nihonto Chicken]

Well, time to give the old uchiko debate another spin. Link below to previous posts on the matter. Use good uchiko only, absolutely no Western grits such as sandpaper, micromesh, Flitz, Simichrome, etc., and use the uchiko only between the ha and shinogi (stay off the shinogi itself).

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/search.php?keywords=power+uchiko&terms=all&author=Nihonto+Chicken&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

[kusunokimasahige]

Uchiko is NOT for cleaning your sword, even though it is slightly abrasive.

 

Uchiko is meant to absorb and get rid of the oil on the blade before viewing it, that way cleaning it from the oil layer.

 

That is my understanding.

 

KM

[Brian]

If the sword is rusted and stained..then yes, uchiko can be good for cleaning. I use it that way, and it takes off a lot of the staining without resorting to something more abrasive. Common sense about not abusing it or using too much pressure. But this has been covered many times, and I am not going to take this thread down that old road.

 

Brian

[Mineo29]

There is no rust on it. It is just grease i believe and it has a dull color i guess from age.

[Lance]

No guarantees but after cleaning the tape residue off as instructed above, and oiling the blade over time you might be pleasantly surprised at how much the "tarnish" goes away. I've had swords and old knives that had a fairly dull finish become more "clear" after a short period of being treated with a light application of oil, I'm not sure if it was just slowly removing old oil/cosmoline residue, or removing oxidation as well but there was an improvement.

Obviously It will never be anywhere remotely near equivalent to a proper restoration, but it will help to preserve it and allow you to become more familiar with handling it. That way if you do have it restored. you'll have less worries in marring a new polish.

 

Regards,

Lance