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Showing results for 'oiling'.
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World War II Sword, Maybe?
Brian replied to garbage finds's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
Regular high grade isopropyl alcohol. Wipe as many times as necessary, then a light oiling on a soft cloth or tissue. Minimal is fine. -
I likely will just fix the original tsuka and leave it there. Personally even if I learned how to polish, it'd feel same as refinishing a milsurp gun. Professional is the way to go as far as that goes, but again likely going to leave the blade and just keep oiling it. Yes some red rust did come off! -
First and foremost, do not do anything to the tang (nakago). It’s very important that area remains unmolested. Otherwise, just a light cleaning and oiling is what you will want to do. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/faq/1-care-and-maintenance/ I would skip any use of uchiko. It ends up causing more harm than good unless you’re very familiar with what you’re doing and have high quality uchiko. Best of luck, -Sam PS. When in doubt, do not hurry. The blades have survived long before we were alive, and they will survive through our lifetime and beyond. So if you are uncomfortable with anything above, don’t feel bad to wait until you can do more research. If Nihonto has taught me anything in life, it’s patience
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Help with Mei Translation, Comments on Gunto & Hamon
SteveM replied to Klink's topic in Military Swords of Japan
The inscription is 濃州関住後藤兼廣作 Nōshū Seki-jū Gotō Kanehiro saku (Made by Gotō Kanehiro from Seki in Noshu province) Don't worry about restoration or polishing or sharpening. The potential to ruin the sword is too great, and there will be no value added to the ensemble by making anything shiny. Beware of hucksters and self-taught polishing enthusiasts with a YouTube channel, who try to convince you that polishing swords is totally doable with ordinary household tools and products you can get from Home Depot. Maybe you can clean up a leather-covered scabbard, or very gently get some dirt out of the crevices of the tsuka and the fittings, but, honestly, I would leave the whole thing alone and resist the temptation to do anything. WW2 militaria is best left looking like it was from WW2. Swords require specialist knowledge and materials. Arsenal blades are a different subject, but I would still refrain from doing anything other than oiling them. Not sure about Hoppes #9. I'm sure there are a few on here who can comment on that. -
Hello everyone. Just a few question on "proper" oiling of the nihontou:1)What type of material do you use to apply the oil? 2)How do you properly remove the excess oil, and how do you know the aforementioned has been accomplished correctly. I have the all of the bells and whistles for nihontou care, just some of the details I need to clear up. Thank you.
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Thank you, just another question. For the nakago oiling. Some said no some said yes, but I believe it’s necessary to lightly oil it to prevent red rust. What is your recommendation for oiling the nakago ?
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Hi all, new owner of a shin gunto. I like to display the sword just out of its saya like in picture. I don't trust what's inside of saya wood liner looks a bit manky... I'm currently oiling once a week, I'm a bit paranoid that I'm going to end up damaging the blade leaving it open to elements and oiling once a week... Is there a more hard wearing protection I can put on the sword such as renaissance wax? Seems some say it's fine on some blades but perhaps not Japanese ones? Thanks. Also can someone confirm what type of hada this is please? Thank you.
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Is this rust normal or should I be worried ?
Robert S replied to Bosco's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
I agree with oiling to stabilize the rust areas. My technique has been to apply a heavy oiling, to get the oil down into the dips and any micro crevices, and then careful repeated dabbing (not rubbing!) with a tissue to remove most of the oil on the surface. -
Hi all. So I ended up buying the sword you guys helped me to identify as real kai-gunto. I took some pause to cool off and think. Then I contacted the seller and negotiated the price down to USD 1500. Still sounds like a high price for such a sword, but I had reasons of my own to buy it. The main thing in a situation like this is to be happy with what you get. And so far I am happy. I believe I already mentioned that after three years of war I grew tired beyond measure and in the last months I feel myself completely burned out. Yet I still have work to do. Luckily, these days I have some time (not much though) I could spend on myself. And since I found out that Japanese blades have a magic in them that switches my mind in no time, I am in it. After the first failure (though I don't consider it as such) I decided to switch on simpler things like Navy dirks. And since for me the best way to study a subject is to have some objects of study at hand I acciered a pair of them. But I believe it may be a separate story, so let's return to the kai-gunto. Sword arrived and as expected: the blade had some corrosion dotting and it barely had a place free from fingerprints. And as you guys correctly noticed, nagasa was buffed. Fittings looked like they were in dire need of cleaning. At first glance the sword looked like an assembly: tsuba and seppas may be from one set but nakago-ana is too large for this blade. Luckily for me, I have some experience in polishing metals (though, not swords) so after looking at the blade I had a clear understanding that any kind of improper treatment will do no further good. So since its arrival I was only constantly oiling the blade and the most aggressive tool I used on the nagasa was a toothbrush with shortened bristles. However, I gently cleaned habaki, tsuba, seppas, fuchi, locking mechanism, kabuto-gane and sarute. I had no time for cleaning the elements of saya yet. Now kai-gunto looks like this. Process of cleaning was closely monitored by one of our cats. She likes to participate in all kinds of human activities. That's why some photos are more hairy than others:-))
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If take into account that I shoot photos in RAW format, this setup gives me the opportunity to get some real close looks at things. I found the light of setting sun to be the best for catching photos of hamon. Also such a light in combination with closeup photos remind me that I still have a lot of oiling ahead. Those spots of rust don't look that active to the naked eye. And there is this one particular fragment of hamon that looked peculiar to me. With a magnifier I managed to catch in photos what I mean. At most angled it looks mostly like all other parts of the hamon line.
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Many here are proponents of rubbing a bit of oil over the nakago with finger tips after oiling for long term preservation. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/15202-nakago-oiling/
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ID Help Please (Type 98, Shin Gunto, Officer's Sword?)
Brian replied to EryrWen's topic in Military Swords of Japan
Amateur polishing and restoration is very frowned on here. Nothing more than oiling and wiping is advocated. Whatever you do, don't remove ANY of the patina on the tang, this is vital to any value the sword has, and it is never cleaned up aside from light wiping to prevent active rust -
To shoot photos of objects I am working on is an old habit of mine from life before the war. And this habit kicked in back in no time, that's why I post so many photos. However, at some stage of work I grew annoyed with photos I could get using my phone camera. When I was leaving for the war I left spare keys from my workshop and my apartments to one friend of mine. So I asked him to get my old Canon EOS650D from my workshop and send it to me. It's an old camera and before the war I was thinking of replacing it with a new one. But alas for all old plans. However, even with standard 18-55mm lens this camera still could do things that my phone could not. Also it turned out that even after three years of not using that camera my fingers still remember all buttons and deals. Once I got my camera I re-shoot a big deal of photos. However, some photos couldn't be re-shooted, like photos of parts before cleaning. Some photos taken by phone camera I considered to be good enough. So what you see here is a mix of phone and camera photos. Also I have to admit that shooting photos of Japanese swords is kind of a pleasure and challenge at the same time. Other evening I was oiling the blade and some evening sunshine was gettin through half closed roller blinds. And I was turning the blade this and that way and hamon was catching light. Sure, I couldn't help myself to shoot some photos.
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Jean, correct. I guess I should have clarified. I don't just mean throwing on a layer of oil and leaving it. I mean a repeated process of oiling, wiping off all the red rust that loosens, then oiling and wiping..leaving to set, then wiping. It's a long process but is continued until the red rust is not active anymore and you are left with the more stable black rust.
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Hi, I’ve seen a number of threads on oiling but I am still unclear on several points. I live in quite a humid area, mean annual humidity of 83.9% and frequently reaches 100% (during long rains). This may mean different requirements and methods of taking care of nihonto than those mentioned in other posts. My questions are: - Oil needs to removed every once in awhile but how do I remove oil from the nakago? I assume a cloth would rip bits of the nakago or vice versa, and alcohol would trap moisture in its porous structure. - If a blade doesn’t have shirasaya, should I leave it unmounted or in koshirae? - Should tsuba be oiled? - What’s the best method to remove oil? 99.9% Isopropyl alcohol with tissue, microdear or a combination of both?
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Looks like a case of over enthusiastic oiling Oli
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Hi, thanks for replying. Unfortunately it's not a pierced one, just a standard type 98. I've only taken one bad pic of the tang myself but it has been translated by previous owner. And cross referencing a page in swords of Slough which he went through with me. Will take some pictures of the tang and add as the ones I've taken don't show much and I'm currently away. Thankfully he's taken the time to give me some maintenance instructions. No touching, oiling once a week or so and also suggested mounting outside of says a he doesn't trust conditions inside? When he purchased the sword the blade was covered in a hard/dried wax of some sort, which is why blade really is in immaculate condition. No scratches, rust, potting or edge damage.
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Is this rust normal or should I be worried ?
drbvac replied to Bosco's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
As stated above Darcy Broadbank suggested ligh oiling of the Nakago - others say don't touch it as the darkening is a sign of age - I wouldn't bother having it removed and a light oil would prevent any further forming of the red rust and it should be fine -
Is this rust normal or should I be worried ?
nulldevice replied to Bosco's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
Technically its all rust. The darker rust is the more stable form Fe3O4 or Iron 2 Oxide whereas the red rust is Fe2O3 or Iron 3 Oxide which is the more volatile rust that we want to avoid. Darcy is a proponent of oiling the nakago to prevent further degradation (Yuhindo - Oil Your Nakago). On an o-suriage mumei blade like this, a light coat wouldn't be a bad idea. Just make sure to use separate tissues when applying oil to the nakago vs the blade so you don't get rust or dirt particles that scratch the polish on the blade. -
Curious what is the item hanging on Tsuba. I didn't pay much attention to them when i was oiling the sword but now as I look at pictures it has me wondering . I do remember thinking that they were heavy for being so small-Owner had it recorded as Officers sword Leather Scabbard -Thanks
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Nothing special, I just wanted to show everyone what my first nihonto was and talk about how your first nihonto purchase was like. My first nihonto was this 60.4cm Shinto katana by Fujiwara Tsunayuki, made in Genroku period(1688 ~ 1704). Sori is only 0.9cm, so it's quite shallow. I've bought it at about 1300$ in Yahoo Auction. That time I was really happy to buy a katana thinking that this was a bargain, but now I think the price wasn't that cheap compared to the state of the blade. As you can see it is not in a good shape - old polish, can't see boshi, so many flaws at kissaki, quite weird length for a katana, rust here and there. I'm not really sure about the tiredness; the boshi problem always ticks in my mind when I see it. At least I'm sure I won't buy blades that are in worse shape than this later. Still, it's my first nihonto! I know it's not the best blade you can get- or to be honest, even a good one- but I still want to show and talk about it with everyone. I've started to make some hobbies from it. Soon as I've got my blade, I've been searching about the smith. Searching was quite fun- one of his work had a lotus leaf horimono that really caught my eyes. Cleaning and oiling blade once a month have been my new relaxing time too! So, I think this was what my "first experience" was like. How was yours, and what nihonto did you buy?
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I recently purchased a couple Nihonto and also own a kaigunto, and I want to care for them in the best possible way to preserve their longevity. I attended Mr. Grey Doffin's wonderful care and etiquette lecture at the Token Kai, and the JSS/US packet he handed out has also been useful. However, I had a few quick questions. 1. Grey mentioned using microfiber cloths for removing oil instead of uchiko. Can one also use a microfiber cloth to apply the oil to the swords? Or should that be a clean tissue for application, switch to microfiber when removing the excess, and finally using a microfiber when cleaning everything off for study/appreciation? 2. Gunto - Is the oiling of a gunto the same as a Nihonto? Thank you for the help!
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My First Nihonto - What was yours like?
Yumso replied to Yumso's topic in General Nihonto Related Discussion
This is very embarrassing, but I think I'll need to confess something- that bad photos were the most recognizable ones of total 500 shots. Trust me, I've tried under many conditions. Turns out that I just really don't have photograph talent. Still, will try to get better photos! And for the polish... I'm just oiling and preserving the blade what it is like for now. Getting new polish is quite hard here, we also have somekind of Torokusho which makes really hard to send blades out to polish and bring them back in. Though I'm also curious how it will look like after polishing. About the length, you're right about it being technically a wakizashi. But it was marked as katana in Torokusho. I also couldn't understand about this first so I've researched a bit- seems like blades that are 60cm ~ 60.5cm could either be a wakizashi or a katana. If the blade was called and seen as a katana before registration that makes it recorded as a katana(like picture below!). If it was seen as wakizashi, then that makes it recorded as a wakizashi. So this one actually has an Hozon origami as a katana, but is technically wakizashi size, which is quite funny and awkward at the same time.
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Hello, I'd appreciate some guidance on how long I can safely leave blades in shirasaya without re-oiling them. Usually I do this quite regularly, but I only currently have one functional hand and as such will need to either coach my wife through the process or arrange for a friend to visit to carry out the maintenance. I might end up sending my collection of blades to a friend, to take care of them for the time being. I realise that climatic factors and the like will affect this, but all the same, I would appreciate some ballpark estimates from your own experience. If anyone is curious, I can share what happened, but it's not directly relevant to the thread. Thank you. Mark
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Hi everyone, Just wanted to share my thoughts, and confront them with y’all, on what I think is a touchy subject 😃 I bought my first and only nihonto 2.5 years ago, and it will probably remain the only one I’ve got for a while. The reason is that I had not the intention of collecting, but more to get the most authentic piece of Japanese sword I could, meaning a nihonto, preferably koto, from the Muromachi era which I find fascinating. I was able to find one within my budget, but unfortunately the koshirae left a lot to be desired. While the tosogu was really nice, saya was definitely subpar, of poor quality and not even fitting the blade properly. Tsuka had been modified, in the inside, to roughly fit the nakago. To the point where I am convinced the koshirae was not made for this blade… Anyway, as I hate the idea of having something that cannot serve its purpose, even just in theory (in life, in general I mean) I was kind of annoyed by that. So I decided to get a full koshirae be made by a French smith not so far from where I live, to give this blade the mountings it deserves, and to have a nice package. But then I started to think that since it will now have a brand-new - most importantly “safe” - koshirae, why not use it ???? I mean, I have been studying iaïdo since 2006 now, have practiced with a shinken (Chinese, not shinsakuto) and I am very serious about it. The steel iaïto I’m currently using is as good as new, and I have been practicing with it weekly for years. Not a scratch I would notice that was not there before. Compared to my steel iaito, my nihonto’s polish looks similar. Absolutely not “in full polish”, but I would say it’s OK, and definitely a lot of minor scratches. So how would you guys see the fact of actually give a nihonto a purpose, a use, other than looking at it in a once-a-month-while -re-oiling-it fashion? Do you feel it will hinder its preservation? Do you feel this is nonsense and a disrespectful behavior? Get your stones and sticks ready (not your swords!), I'm here 😁😜
