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Care and Maintenance

How to look after, source and maintain Japanese swords.


Where do I buy a genuine Japanese sword?

You can buy Japanese swords in many different places and from many different dealers: sword shops in Japan, sword shows in the US or overseas, gun and military shows in the US or elsewhere, eBay and other online auctions, postings on the For Sale forum on this message board, from other collectors, and from online dealers. Check the links at the top of this board 's home page and you 'll find a list of dealers with swords at a variety of price levels.
Finding swords to buy is easy; knowing what to buy takes serious study. Your first ten swords should be books. You should attend sword shows if possible and beg your way into collections to see and learn. Read, ask questions, reread, and ask more questions. Only with knowledge can you make an informed decision, and appreciate and understand what you are buying.
If you are ready to buy a sword but are uncomfortable with you level of expertise, you would be smart to stick with well established dealers and/or swords with authentication papers from one of the important sword societies in Japan. Even then you should be asking lots of questions. If you are still unsure, ask questions: From the seller, and from other collectors. Ask this forum. but ask someone, as once you have bought, it is too late to go back. Usually fellow enthusasts will be glad to assist and guide you through the process. Always run the dealership through an online search and see what other's experience of them was. You will never find total concensus, but most should agree.
It is a fact that you should always buy a sword in-hand and in person, and not from pictures online. This is good advice to follow, and is probably the most important advice you will get. But if you are unable to, then refer to the advice above, or delay the purchase until you can.


How to disassemble and examine a sword.

Without rewriting the excellent guides that are already out there, the following page has an excellent article on this, together with pictures and a section on etiquette:
http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm


How to oil and maintain Nihonto

The starting point to preserving a blade is to pick up some light machine oil, the type sold for sewing machines, or some traditional oil for Japanese blades which is called choji oil. This refers to clove oil, but is actually a light machine oil mixed with a tiny bit of clove oil just for the pleasant traditional scent. Do not use pure pharmaceutical clove oil. Many other oils such as gun oils and vegetable oil can gum up, leave stains or have other adverse effects over time.
A few drops on a clean and soft cloth, lightly wiped over the blade when it has been handled should do the trick. In climates that are less humid, cleaning does not have to be done very frequently. Less is more when it comes to Nihonto. Uchiko powder and commercial sword cleaning balls containing powdered abrasive should generally be reserved for blades heavily out of polish, and even then very sparingly. They can be used occasionally on Nihonto to remove old oil, but bear in mind that they are abrasive and will dull a new polish over time. Removal of old oil can easily be done with pure alcohol, otherwise known as dehydrated alcohol or waterless ethanol. This is 99.5% pure alcohol.
Be careful when cleaning the area close to the tang - try to avoid moving the tissue up from the nakago - the tissue might pick up rust particles from the nakago (tang) and scratch the blade. Move the tissue in one direction - from the tang to the tip. Never ever move your hand up and down - you could cut yourself badly some day (and blood will stain a blade.)
Scented or otherwise hampered tissue paper is be avoided. Normal tissue is fine and a lot easier to get a hold of. The best cloth to use is micro fiber cloth, sold for photographic lenses. Microdear is known as the best of these brands and can be found online. These can be washed in water when they get too dirty.
For newly polished blades or newly made blades, the following is the traditional routine:- For the first 3 months, the blade has to be cleaned every week because it can rust easily. After that it is cleaned once a month for 3-6 months and then only every 6 months. It has to be cleaned every time you use it or show it to someone. It has to be cleaned every month for 3-6 months if you move it out of its usual resting place (you move to a new house where the humidity level is different).


Storage and Display

Traditionally, the Japanese sword is displayed as it is worn..in other words katana/wakizashi/tanto edge up, and tachi edge down or vertically. The tsuka (handle) usually faces to the left, as this shows the sword is at rest and not in a position to be drawn quickly by the right hand in an offensive move.
Tachi in a special tachi kake (stand) are sometimes also displayed upright.
Stands can vary from wall mounted horizontal racks, to stand-alone kake or professional cabinets. Standing a sword vertically with the point down will cause oil to pool in the bottom of the saya, so this is undesirable.
Swords with both koshirae and plain scabbards called shirasaya are sometimes displayed with the koshirae separate using a wooden blade called a tsunagi to keep the koshirae together. In this case, the sword in shirasaya is usually displayed together with the complete koshirae.
Newly polished swords should have a shirasaya and new habaki made for them. Old saya often have dirt and grit inside them that can scratch or damage the new polish. Because of the change of dimensions of the sword after polish, a new habaki is often fitted.
There are too many display options for the Japanese sword to list them all here. The most important part is to ensure that moisture does not affect the blade, and the environment is not too dry as to cause shrinkage and cracking of the wooden parts. In professional and sealed glass display cabinets with internal lighting, a glass of water is often left inside the case to prevent drying out. However always monitor the environment inside the room or cabinet for excess moisture or dryness.
When stored, the sword is placed inside a slightly padded sword bag with a tie cord. This prevents bumps from damaging the laquerwork and metalwork.


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