Shirasaya - treatment

[Martin]

Hi all,

 

is it possible to apply some wax (i.e. Renaissance Wax) on the Shirasaya in order to protect the wood a bit from "daily use dirt" ?

Saw some Shirasaya that have a kind of glossy finish (see picture).

 

Any experience or advice would be appreciated.

 

cheers,

[AndreasU]

You can use "Ibota". Thats what is used on it traditional.

Most important is that the wood keeps the capability to "breathe"

 

 

Andreas

[Martin]

Hi Andreas,

 

thanks for your reply. I read about the use of Ibota Wax too and that the use of "Renaissance wax" is somehow comparable to it (see Fords comment: http://www.thecarvingpath.net/forum/ind ... #entry6078 ). As I do not have Ibota available right now I thought of applying the Renaissance wax instead.

 

An additional question would be of course, how many layers should be applied in order not to destroy the "breatheability" of the Honoki wood.

 

Any experiences?

 

best,

[Ed Harbulak]

I use a paste wax (Simonize brand automibile wax) on all my shirasaya and have never had any problems. Since the objective of a shirasaya is to protect the sword as much from external moisture as well as physical harm, I don't know that breathability is all that important or even desirable, unless you are hoping any moisture inside the shirasaya will defuse out. Of course, the blade should not be wet when it goes into the shirasaya. One or perhaps two rather thin applications of a paste wax should be all you need to help keep the shirasaya from getting too dirty.

Ed Harbulak

[Darcy]

It's actually a surprise to find out, but all finishes let the wood breathe. It is actually a frustrating thing that I can't seal out humidity totally . The only difference is that some finishes let humidity in and out at different rates. Wax is basically transparent, something like lacquer will only slow humidity down for a couple of weeks at most, which is beneficial because major spikes won't cause the wood to change size.

 

Changing size is no good because you get things like compression set and this over time will make a shirasaya loosen... but that said, our approach is to try to control the humidity and keep these things in a climate controlled environment so as to eliminate most problems related to humidity.

 

Now, on to wax, if you were to wax it to prevent dirt from setting in, you should probably stay away from automotive waxes. There are various additives in there that you want to keep away from furniture and fine wood. Once in, they may never get out of the wood.

 

Fine furniture wax is usually a mix of paraffin and carnauba wax. Paraffin comes from petroleum distillation and carnauba comes from the leaves of a palm tree. Some use bees wax. All are removable with the application of mineral spirits. I am not sure if mineral spirits will attack the rice paste glue, so if cleaning off wax keep it light.

 

Bees wax is the easiest to apply.