Taking care of fuchi kashira, do something or not?

[cspage]

Just a question about the care of fuchi kashira. Should one consider cleaning? Or not? If so, how? Any tips or opinions on the care of fuchi kashira would be welcome. Thanks.

[Grey Doffin]

Warm water and a gentle toothbrushing, followed by a thorough drying, should do no damage. Beyond that, if more is necessary, I'd leave to someone who knows more about the subject than I do.

Anyone have a better idea? Grey

[nagamaki - Franco]

In addition to a soft bristled brush and water, a mild gentle soap may be used. Careful here as something like a liquid dish soap might contain a more harsh detergent, and certainly something with lemon would be too acidic. Read the ingredients label, and as a general rule the fewer ingredients the better. Keep in mind that it is possible to overclean these old items, they're not supposed to look new, new, so, try not to remove the good oldness out of them.

 

One of the more common mistakes is for beginning collectors to 'think' everything is supposed to look 'shiny' new, and out comes the silverware cleaner. Oooh, look at that nice shiny copper and silver, not realizing they just removed the desirable natural shakudo and shibuichi patina, ouch!

 

Oh, and when it doubt , then, NOT.

[reinhard]

Before starting any action you should know exactly what F/K (or any other tosogu) are made of. Some alloys and their patination are rather robust, but others are extremely delicate and once removed, some surfaces/colors can never be restored in the way their maker intended them to look like. Ford's the man to give particular advice.

 

reinhard