tsuba wax?

[Peter Bleed]

Poking around a box of VERY old stuff, I just came across a jar of wax that I got many years ago from Tom Buttweilor. It contains wax that Tom made/sold/used to instantly refinish iron tsubas. It was eventually sold thru the JSSUS Newsletter. Tom would carry it to gun shows or wherever he might encounter an old guard. Rubbing a thin coat of the stuff on dirty iron guards gave them an instant improvement. The stuff is easily removed in hot water so it seems benign, although after 50 years it might be pretty crusty.

What is current thinking about waxing iron fittings?

Peter

[Peter Bleed]

sorry about this errant post

[Peter Bleed]

Here is a quick before and after comparison of a very thin touch of the wax to a dirty guard. In the old days, we could find masses of dirty "as found" tsuba and there was a role from this sort of stuff. Mebbe not so useful in this era of well organized and thoroughly assessed stuff.

Peter

[SAS]

I have some iron fittings on a wakizashi that could use some help like that....what was in that stuff?

[peterd]

Museums tend to use renaissance micro crystalline wax. 

[Stephen]

Ear wax works well on a old rusty as well.

[Peter Bleed]

This stuff was made to be quick and easy and it is quite removable. It is far easier to remove than renaissance wax, I think.

Please let me post another before and after (I'm trying to get ready to start sell some tosho tsuba and trying t0 get the orientation right)

notice that the wax cleans the surface and kills red rust, but does nothing to holes in the patina. That means to me that it is less strident than etchants (feric cloride etc etc) that have been used and suggested.

Peter

[Ken-Hawaii]

Looks like very useful stuff, Peter. Where do we get some?

[SAS]

How about bees wax and turpentine? If i start collecting ear wax, my wife may look at me funny...

[Rich S]

Peter -

 

I remember the iron tsuba wax. I think I used it years ago on a couple of tsuba.  I was just looking through my old box of "fix up" supplies and found the

plastic container of it; now evaporated and hard - tossed it out.

Rich

[ChrisW]

Ren wax is pretty top-shelf stuff, I have a few cans of it myself.

[lonely panet]

I'm not a fan of waxing tsuba, I think it gives a false shine or patina

[John A Stuart]

Ebota is it not? I am not in favour of wax nor oil on iron/ steel tsuba. The magnetite surface is inhibited by a coating and it is this that gives these type of tsuba their most desirable trait. John

[Jean]

For people who read Robinson’s books, there was a chapter about taking care of tsuba. His receipt was to heat the tsuba and put it in liquid wax to coat it. Some of his receipts are frowned upon nowadays.

[peterd]

My only advice would be, if you dont know whats in it dont use it.

[Peter Bleed]

What we are seeing here is the fact that iron tsubas can be rather dynamic. Sometimes they can be is "poor" condition. A dab of wax offers a means of stopping red rust, 'washing' away the crust, and  giving it a bit of color. It is 'first aid".  I also think that rubbing this stuff on a guard is a lot better that doing anything like heating it or scouring it with some kind of abrasive. I am certainly not in anyway advocating this stuff.

Peter

[ROKUJURO]

From a technical point of view, only a thick cover of a soft wax will offer some protection against oxygen attack. A thin layer (depending on the kind of wax) will not seal the surface of an iron TSUBA tightly enough for a longer period of time because of the molecular structure of most waxes.

Wax will not clean the surface from rust! If warmed or heated, it penetrates into the rust layer, giving it a darker appearance. This may help indeed, as mentioned above, to give the TSUBA a superficial "for sale" appearance, but it will not improve the chemical situation (oxidation). In addition, it may give the TSUBA surface an unnatural shine. Under the best of conditions, an ideal wax (they do not have a common formula) may slow down rust formation.

Another reason to avoid wax as conservant is the fact that it may enter into the smaller structures of the TSUBA's surface and decoration, thus disguising the fine details. 

In my experience, careful rust removal and a good natural patina are the best protection, followed by very little oil from time to time in cases when iron TSUBA are exposed to moisture.