Derek

Cont

Start of test:

To recap, I have been using Choji oil from a Japanese sword dealer on all my swords. I clean them with a microfiber cloth, and a bit of denatured alcohol. All of my swords are in polish. I started using Breakfree collector on one of my swords, and although it seems to work well at preventing rust, it is very thick and seems to attract dust. I wasn’t sure if it was the oil or my perception. Since I am thinking of trying other oil, I started researching alternatives. I have been looking at oil tests available online, but found that they are geared towards guns. The usual tests show someone treating a piece of metal with oil, spraying it with salt water, then leaving it out in the element for weeks. This seems like a good test for a gun which may be out in the elements for a week of hunting. My issue with these tests are that the conditions tested aren’t really what I’m concerned about. My main worry is someone touching my treated blade (either customs, a guest, sword show, or my own negligence) then being left unnoticed and then developing rust. I am also concerned about the oil attracting dust with sticky residue. My other minor concerns are oil staining the shirasaya and unpleasant smell. I developed a test based on these ideas, but focused more on nihonto. I used two identical pieces of mild steel. 36” long by 2” wide. I separated the steel pieces into 9 equal sections, using 1” tape. I thoroughly ground down, sanded, and cleaned the steel, then treated each section with a different type of oil. I left one section unoiled as a control. After liberally applying the oil, I wiped off any excess with a new cloth. I then set aside the steel for 10 minutes. I created a saline solution of 1%, which is similar to sweat, blood, and spit, any of which may end up on our swords. I applied saline solution to each section, then wiped it with my bare thumb. All of this was to simulate a situation where someone touches the bare blade. I then left the steel inside on a table to measure rust. I also put a sample of each oil into a zip-lock bag to judge color and smell. Finally, I treated separate knives with oil, let them dry, then touched each one to judge stickiness.

These are the pictures of the new oils: Fujishiro Oil, Mineral oil, and choji oil are clear and no smell. Camillia oil is slight yellow, and has very light organic smell. OHS choji oil is light yellow, no smell. WD40 clear, definite odor. Motor oil is thick, yellow, strong odor.

This is the follow-up to my original study of nihonto oil. (Which can be found here..... http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16303-nihonto-oil-a-study/ After many questions came up regarding other available oil, I obtained samples of them and am now retrying my experiment. In addition to the original 10 oils: Ohota Katsuhisa syouten Co Choji Oil 3-in-1 multi-purpose oil. Breakfree CLP. Hoppe’s elite gun oil. Rem Oil. Eezox. Breakfree Collector. Marine Tuf-glide. Singer All-purpose Machine Oil. M-pro 7 gun oil. I have added 7 more: Fujishiro Oil Mineral Oil Camillia Oil 御刀油・最高精製錆止丁子油 Choji oil Okamura Heibei Shoten Choji Oil Wd-40 Motor Oil

I recently had one of my swords held for an extended period in customs (Chicago).... A very nice katana in shirasaya from Japan. I kept checking the USPS tracking, but it stalled for a week there, so I sent an email to the contact form on USPS. They sent back a polite email telling me that it was out of their control. The sender (in Japan) also emailed. It was released the next day. Not sure if the emails helped or not, but it was an interesting coincidence......

Yes, article states 155 cm, or 61 inches, for an adult man during Edo era. Very interesting, thank you for the link. My question is if merchants could own, but not carry nihonto over 2 shaku? If so, could a wealty merchant own a very nice, signed, ubu Tadayoshi, but keep it locked away in perfect condition? If only to show it off in his own home? Or would one have to be a samurai to even purchase?

I tried through Paul's website, his direct email, and through a pm here. I had more success with Fujishiro San directly. I will keep everyone posted.

Thank you for your ideas. I have a few emails out to Paul and one to Fujishiro-San. If I don't hear from either of them this week, I will try an alternative method. I hesitate to purchase a large amount, as my whole intent here is to test different types of oil. Is there really anything special in Fujishiro's oil? Or is just choji oil in his own container? I don't want to invest several hundred dollars, just to test it and find that it works the same as $5 oil......

Thank you Chris, I will try an email. Never hurts to ask.....

Jim, I did see that site, but it was way beyond my Japanese, even with a translator. If anyone would contact them, or knows another way to reach Paul, please let me know....

Still looking for a source for Fujishiro Oil for follow-up tests. I have messaged Paul several times, but it doesn't appear to be working. Anyone else have a source? (prefer English-speaking....) The Japanese dealers that I have contacted sell Choji oil, but not Fujishiro's. I have samples of the two main types that they sell. I am also looking for a beyond-repair donor nihonto for more realistic testing. I would like to keep costs low, as this is just for knowledge-sake. I would pay for shipping or meet up at the Chicago show. I plan on testing both versions of Choji oil that Japanese dealers seem to use, Fujishiro oil. mineral oil, camellia oil, choiji oil from ebay, and a machine oil from Japan..... hopefully on a broken section of a sword. If anyone has information on either, please let me know!

Any hints at your next project, Markus? Guido, you will always be the "source" of our inspiration....

At 24 hrs....

A special thank you to one of our members here, Thomas @ japanesesword.de. Thomas forwarded, and gave permission for me to use, 2 different Muramasa that he has sold on his site. Thank you!

Just completed 24 hrs on test 2. Control was rusted. Hoppe's, Singer machine oil, Tuf-glide, and 3-in-1 oil all are very discolored. Choji oil, M-pro 7 had mild discoloration. Eezox, Rem oil, CLP, and Collector had no visible change. After comparing both tests at 24 hrs, the only significant difference was that tuf-glide may have more discoloration than before. Pictures to come...

At 8 hours. Test #2.

I am now posting the second round of the same test. I ground down a new piece of the same type of steel, sanded with 220, sectioned them off, and applied samples of oil in different locations. I then treated with a 1% saline mixture, and pressed my thumb into each area. At 8 hours, control was already rusted lightly. Machine oil was discolored. Tuf-glide had a waxy residue. All other samples showed no change.

Thank you Wah, I really do appreciate your input. A quick google search shows that you have discussed this many times on different forums I just emailed Paul to purchase some Fujishiro Oil from him. I will test that next. Now, anyone have a broken blade or other throw-away nihonto that they would be willing to donate for the cause?

Also, I'm confused, as Guido posted, "Mineral oil is sold with and without the addition of clove oil, Fujishiro oil is the latter. It's basically the same as sewing machine oil." http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14125-fujishiro-oil-and-uchiko/

Is this the same oil as Paul sells? http://www.thejapanesesword.com/store-2/fujishiro-oil-small

My sample choji oil is posted here. Anyone know of the difference between available sword oils in Japan? If not, I am considering a test between those as well. Again, I am not trying to influence anyone, but do we really know what we are putting on our nihonto? I just spent several thousand dollars on a new polish, and I am to just blindly trust an oil since the packaging is in Japanese? Please don't take it the wrong way. No offense meant to anyone. I really do appreciate the feedback and opinions of people here. If you love nihonto like I do, then we already have a lot in common!

Thank you for the feedback! Again, I am not trying to talk anyone into using a certain oil. I just wanted to know what I was using on my nihonto collection, and how it stacks up against alternatives..... What I'm seeing so far is that chojji oil is very good. If you are using it, I think it's a good choice. To be honest though, Rem Oil seems to be just as good. (Maybe better ) Two others seem to offer better rust prevention, but... Collector is too sticky for my taste, and Eezox smells really bad. I have just started the second test, which I will update next. Barry- I think you and I share very similar opinions here. Brian- I like your idea. I may try something like that. My wife may have something to say about leaving an oily piece of smelly steel in our bathroom though.

Chris, I will do some separate tests with the Eezox. I'm interested to know what you find as well. So far, I like everything except the smell.