Nihonto maintenance kit

[Martin P]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for a kit to take care of my soon to be sword. I see multiple kits with multiple price ranges. I don’t need to break the bank, but want to make sure I am getting quality oil. Does someone have a recommendation for where to purchase one in the states? Sorry if this has been already covered. I looked, but didn’t find it.

 

Thanks

Martin

[SAS]

http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/about-us.html

 

Bob Benson's site; call him to see if he has any to sell.

[Jacques]

I use microfiber for more 15 years  and have no problem. Uchiko is a little abrasive and reduces the hadori over time. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

For anything in polish a microfiber cloth, good neutral oil and soft tissues is all you need.

[cju777]

As the folks above said a good kit can be very simple.

 

When I was starting out... which I still very much am, I modeled my maintenance kit off the one Darcy provides to his Juyo clients. Most parts can be found off Amazon and other retailers, any case will do. Plenty of discussions on the forum on the various oils if you search. I went with the Okamura Heibei Shoten brand choji oil but might switch once it runs out, but I have been happy with it.

 

Darcy's kit - https://blog.yuhindo.com/a-better-way/

 

My setup is in the photo. Costs more than it needs to but part of the fun was the scavenger hunt to piece it all together.

Case, microdear cloth, choji oil, smaller cloths for oiling (tissue works fine too), mekuginuki, sword pillow

 

Hope that helps! 

 

Cheers,

Chris

[Brian]

Would include a small bottle of high grade ethyl alcohol.

[Dave R]

I use isopropyl alcohol which can be as much as 99% pure, and is cheaper than ethyl.For oil I use Kurobara brand oil. Otherwise very much as you see posted above.

 

[Gakusee]

I tend to like Fujishiro’s scent-free colourless oil best. The other highly recommended oils tend to have natural oils in there but I am always conscious of natural ingredients in the oils. They impart a beautiful scent but I prefer the purity of the mineral oil. 
The higher the grade and percentage of alcohol the better obviously. As it often gets mixed with water. 

[Martin P]

Are you using the alcohol to remove the oil?

[Martin P]

That is good to know about the alcohol and I read a bit more and answered the question I had earlier that it is used for cleaning. Makes sense to get 99%. I also found a link on Nihonto oil study. While looking for a Fujishiro cleaning kit, I found that Tatsuhiko Konno sells them or used to. I met Tatsuhiko Konno sometime before 2006 when Yoshindo Yoshihara came to visit. In 2006 I was lucky enough to be able to watch Yoshindo doing the heat treating process to create the hamon. My impression when I talked with them, as they were very humble men which hid their vast knowledge and talent.

 

Martin