Nakago oiling

[Gasam]

Heyas!

 

Just a quick question, one is always told to leave the nakago true and well alone with regards to cleaning etc, due to the rust and unaltered condition giving important clues to age etc.

 

But: does this also apply to oiling? Should the nakago be oiled as the rest of the blade, or more lightly, or indeed never?

 

and lastly, beeing friday night and wine tiems and all, kudos for avoiding any sexual innuendo with regards to nakago oiling is greatly appreciated

[hxv]

Please don't oil the nakago. Nakago are porous and will absorb the oil. Rust can and will develop over time. This is the same reason we don't oil up iron tsuba.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Stephen]

depends on condition of your nakago

[nagamaki - Franco]

11.It is a good idea to apply oil to the surface of the tang with one's fingers. However, an excessive amount of oil must also be avoided here. http://www.jssus.org/articles/7.html

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[Gasam]

Thank you!

 

As always prompt and good replies from the forum

[drbvac]

Yes sir - prompt replies but what are you going to do ?

 

Oil with fingers or no oil at all ?

 

Jean:

 

What condition would indicate oiling nakago is a good thing? How often - ?

 

Thanks

[Jean]

IMO, Only if the nakago is showing red rust, a light oiling would be necessary. But first, remove as many red dust as you can with a tooth brush, then rub it with your fingers after passing them on your forehead or nose to gather some sebum. Repeat several times a day this action. At last, if it remains red rust, put a drop of gun oil on your thumb and gambatte!!

 

You will notice that, if kinko tsuba are handled with gloves, iron ones are not, same for handling blades, never put gloves on the nakago, the sebum covering our fingers oils slightly the iron. Very good for patina and for protection.

[drbvac]

Also great for lubricating the ferrules on your fly rods !!! :D :D

[Darcy]

I think this is probably a good subject for analysis, like "uchiko" I think it is probably could do with some updating.

 

Nakago "aging" to me is a bit worrisome, when we look at gendai nakago of course they are clean and minty in relation to shinto which look nicely aged and then koto starts looking ancient and heian usually decayed (all generalizations).

 

If we do nothing, in 1000 years time what can we expect then? In 1000 years Shinto will be 1200 to 1400 years old. Are they going to look like Heian because we have done nothing and been handling them? If so, what happens to Heian?

 

I think it is a bit much to expect that everything will remain perfectly status quo. I am not against oiling the nakago and attempting to lock in the state of preservation as it is. Much about the shirasaya and handling of swords has left something to be desired. Any abrasion or rubbing of the sword is a negative for the future health and survival of the blade so the entire concept is a bit broken though it is convenient (shirasaya).

 

Now maybe we are not even going to exist in 1000 years so it's moot but if you get past the 20 and 50 year horizons and want to look way down the road then we shouldn't be handling the nakago or jamming it into shirasaya.

 

I have two swords with shumei that have been worn away by this practice (though one can argue that shumei are not original so don't matter, still they are from an older historical period of the sword).

 

In summary I question a lot of these practices because they are not achieving the best results in what they're supposed to achieve.

 

The typical case of uchiko and horimono for instance, eventually misuse of uchiko will generate streaks on the blade due to horimono or imperfections in the blade itself and will encourage someone in the future to polish it to "restore" the condition of the blade. Then future uchiko will be placed on by someone who thinks uchiko toning down a polish is good maintenance. Which is followed by streaks and another "touch up" polish eventually.

 

Because everyone in these situations has a time horizon that is set to the period of their ownership (which is often extremely short, and at best is only a fraction of the lifetime of the sword), the damage is done in cycles.

 

They should probably be wrapped in silk and stored in vacuum. But that is not so convenient

[Gasam]

Darcy,

 

I too have pondered philosophically about the dilemma we are facing with regards to preservation, and I suspect, so have many others. It is impossible, I find, not to stand in awe of a blade I am holding that has survived centuries before us, thinking and wondering about what it would say could it speak. In fact this kind of thinking was part of why I bought my first nihonto. To be able to wonder, "what have you seen in your times, old blade". More reasons than just that of course, but that was definitely a part of it.

 

Eventually, however many (thousands?) years it will be down the line, they will all wither away, be it from polish or rust. How then can we in our lifetime best "first do no harm" as the doctors of the world pledge in their oath?

 

Not an easy question.

[Jean]

Easy question to solve. All swords have to be kept untouched by human hands as all antiques, in airtight/vacuum cases. Depending of Antiques, furniture.... Humidity must equally be controlled. What happens to Antiques is part of History. Time takes its toll.

[bone]

Hmmm, how bout one of those bags that you vacuum the air out of to keep your clothes fresh?

[kusunokimasahige]

And regularly oil the blade itself. Just to make sure.

[Brian]

Let's not make this an esoteric discussion of the impermanent nature of life. It is, as Darcy said, just about whether to protect the nakago or not. I agree that we should halt deterioration where possible.

The patina on the nakago was used to age and verify the sword, but it is unlikely they deliberately allowed rusting to continue. I am not saying dip the nakago in oil...but a little on the fingertip to prevent active rusting would be a good thing imho.

 

Brian