Rust below?

[kaze ryu]

Hi friends. I'm here again. Tsuba is my passion and I want to learn as much as I can. I tried searching the forum, but I don't see anything specific. In this case, I look at these tsubas with a more critical eye now.

 

The first thing that bothers me is that the one on the right has something that makes it shine. In my hand, it shines a lot, and it seems to me that the patina is adorned or protected with some wax that gives it that shiny appearance.

 

The other one looks much more natural, but I see marks that I think are from corrosion or rust. I took the photo through a magnifying glass. Since both have details, I don't want to boil or use chemicals to preserve them.

 

Is there any known method to avoid damaging the details and remove the artificial layer? Should I leave them like that, so they look stable? Perhaps get rid of it before I go blind looking at so much shine? Thanks in advance.

 

Finally, I'm trying to catalog my modest collection, but I'm still too inexperienced to be precise. Could someone give me a hand?

[Matsunoki]

The shiny one may well have a wax coating or sometimes oil is used. It’s nothing to worry about and I’d leave it alone. Sometimes you can do more harm than good trying to clean things.

Both tsuba have what looks like nunome zogan work on the rims and that is easily damaged so again, leave them alone. 
The shine may fade with time. Keep them dry and check for fresh rust every now and then

As background reading just put “basket weave tsuba” into the search box on this forum, click on “everywhere” and I’m sure you’ll find lots to think about and compare to. 

[Kurikata]

These tsuba with a basket backround are typical of shoami school. Please find herewith a good exemple:http://ricecracker.com/inventory/822_tsuba_higo_basketweave/822_tsuba_basketweave.html

[kaze ryu]

Thanks! They return to the box and thanks gor the info!