Type 98 (I believe) - What to do with condition?

[centurion8]

Hey everyone, I recently inherited the attached sword.  Based on some "research" I believe it to be a Type 98 Shin Gunto that my grandfather brought back from the Pacific in WW2.  The handle is wooden, wrapped, and there are no obvious stamps or serial numbers present.  There is a fair bit of rust on scabbard and many of the brass/copper fittings have patina.  I am horribly nervous about opening the blade to view the tang but understand that any more pertinent information is reliant on doing so.  My current question is regarding cleaning/restoration, simply, should I do anything with the rust and patina to the respective areas?  It hurts me that the condition of this item has been left to tarnish, literally, in my Dad's closet for the last 40+ years but am nervous about doing more harm than good.

 

Thank you!

[Leen]

For starters, do not touch the blade with your bare hands. Rust will easily develop. This is indeed a type 98 shin gunto. Removing the handle or tsuka will reveal wich smith and wich era. 

Tap the wooden pin or mekugi gently out of the tsuka, it is thicker on one side than on the other so watch out you tap on the good side of the mekugi or you will only tighten it. 

Hold the sword in your right hand, (tip under an angle) and hit your wrist with the other hand. The blade will come loose. Make clear pictures of the nakago or tang oriented tip of the sword up, bottom down. Post them here and we will be able to see which smith made the sword. Do not unde any circumstanc clean the nakago or tang. 

Furthermore I personally wouldn't restore the koshirae (mountings) They are fine as is in my opinion. I am really curious about the smith! Oh and please don't restore the blade yourself to, leave that to a professional togishi (polisher) keep it lightly oiled to prevent rust.

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Hi Craig!

 

Start by reading this page on care and cleaning: Sword Care and Cleaning - Japaneseswordindex.com

 

Here is a video demonstrating the technique mentioned by Leen: How to remove Sword Tsuka

 

It is hard to see if the original paint is still there on your saya (scabbard).  If it is, I would just use a rag and oil to clean it and stop the rust.  

For the brass & copper fittings, it is hard to remove the copper oxidation without removing the original paint/coloration.  You might just try the rag/oil method and see how much comes off.  I've made the mistake of using products like Brasso before.  It will remove everything else, too!

 

Some other guys might have some better tips.