Fresh Pitting And How To Stop It

[raynor]

Merry Christmas,

 

I was going to apply oil to my nihonto and upon taking it out of its shirasaya I discovered several fresh spots of needlepoint sized pitting on the blade. 

 

The shirasaya was starting to split this week so I did the warm water on fingertips trick to close it back up, worked like a charm.

 

My mistake here was leaving the blade unsheathed about a quarter of an inch for no more then three days for the shirasaya to solidify back up before closing it up again.

 

I have gently once wiped the spots with a microfiber cloth soaked in WD40, then applied and wiped off with choji oil several times.

 

Is there anything else I can do to stop the process? As can be seen in one of the photos, there is red reflected from the pitts, which means active rust 

 

[nagamaki - Franco]

Season Greetings,

 

First, please, strongly suggest no wd 40, petroleum distillates is not what you want soaking into the metal or saya, imho. For pits take a soft tip Q-tip dipped in sword/choji oil and apply directly to the pitting. The worry is not so much what you see on the surface as what could be below the surface which you cannot see, so make sure the oil soaks into the pit. 

 

It was the practice of Ono Kokei NLT sword polisher and his students to seal pits with lacquer. I would imagine he/they use some sort of technique/process to thoroughly dry the pit out first before applying the lacquer. Any thoughts or experience from NMB members on this?

[raynor]

Thanks for the info, WD40 never stays on more then half a minute, I never let it dry on the metal and did it just to rule out stuck dirt spots versus pitting. Will do the qtip trick asap!

[raynor]

Anyone have experience with BreakFree CLP Gun Cleaner on swords?

 

It is used by the US military on guns and is so far the only product I would consider for this, asking here first before getting some for applying with a qtip on the pitting.

[Tanto54]

Dear Omar,

 

See this excellent research by Derek for a comparison of the various oils (including CLP).

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16303-nihonto-oil-a-study/?hl=testing

[Daniel]

Omar, regardless of the type of mineral oil used the answer is repetition. I would apply a light mineral oil daily for a couple of weeks after that once a week etcetera. As said repetition and supervision...

 

Good luck

Daniel

[raynor]

Well it seems qtip and choji for a week with a gentle nudge using a tiny splint of bone is doing well so far.. red reflection on photos appear gone.

 

 

 

And a bonus shot for those in colder climates who forgot what Japanese steel in sunlight looks like   I'm Norwegian but have crawled south over the years..

 

[TheGermanBastard]

Neverdull

[Ken-Hawaii]

Good photos.

[raynor]

Thank you. Sunlight, smith and toshigi deserve the credit tho.

[Vermithrax16]

Well done! Excellent photos and glad you got the spots worked out.

[raynor]

Thanks, and on that note I forgot to add thanks to the pig who's bone I went at with a hammer to get my spiky tool of choice..

[Katsujinken]

Neverdull

Apologies for the almost-pun, but I would never use Nevr Dull on a nihonto that is in polish. I do use it on my shinken, but that’s a totally different story.

[TheGermanBastard]

Apologies for the almost-pun, but I would never use Nevr Dull on a nihonto that is in polish. I do use it on my shinken, but that’s a totally different story.

 

You wouldn't. Your story.

[TETSUGENDO]

Best solution:

 

                         "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

 

                         -B.Franklin