Nihonto Maintenance

[Curgan]

I am expecting my first nihonto from Japan and I have been wondering whether to protect them with Renaissance Wax or not. I do this with all my modern blades, but now I am very hesitant, because I want to take care of them appropriately.

 

Luckily for me I can always count on the counsel of my fellow NMB forumites. :D

[Jamie]

real light coating of Choji oil is best.

 

You might want to read the following as well:

http://www.Japanese-swords.com/pages/handling.htm

[Curgan]

Forgot to mention that I keep oiling all my swords above the wax. I know it's not necessary, but omitting oiling will take half my fun away.

 

I am thinking whether there is something special thay can be done for maintenance (other than oiling)

[John A Stuart]

I use renaissance wax only on swords that are in poor polish (my small swords) and never on nihonto. As Jamie said the proper oil for them is the commercially available choji oil or a very high grade mineral oil, do not skimp on quality and buy the best available. John

[cspage]

Here's a very straightforward and clear video of simple maintenance for nihonto. This is what everyone is talking about. Maintenance kits are available online from many sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLnAWCABGUE

 

Colin

[Curgan]

Thank's for the feedback. Luckily I know how to maintain a modern blade and especially katana's. I am equipped with the basics. Even with high quality choji oil, although I preffer sewing machine oil for modern steel blades.

My concern was the specifics for a blade older than 100 years...

[David Flynn]

High grade Camelia oil is an accepted oil for Nihonto and has the advantage of not smelling like cloves.

[cspage]

I've never encountered any special treatment other than that described above for nihonto of any age , providing the sword is in any sort of decent polish. I assume this accepted process for maintenance has been tried and true for over 100 years, probably for well longer than that. If I'm wrong, I'd love to hear about it. Anyone?

 

Colin

[Stephen]

has the advantage of not smelling like cloves.

 

I love the smell of choji in the morning!

[David Flynn]

It smells like crap

[Tsugio Kawakami]

It smells like crap

 

Them's fightin' words!

[sanjuro]

I've never encountered crap that smells like Choji oil......... and in my line of work you get an awful lot of crap from other people.

 

I too love the smell of choji oil....... Lets hear it from the choji sniffers of the world....... YAY!

[David Flynn]

It was supposed to be a pun on stephens post where he uses a pun on Apocalypse now. I love the smell of Napalm in the morning, .....smells like victory.

[Curgan]

Sorry David but I prefer the clove smell over crap or Napalm (at least for this time of the year, I 'm not quite sure for mid-winter though)

 

PS Although camelia oil smells quite well, but if I recall it right it must be of the highest quality and without any additives...

[doug e lewis]

Makes for nice light after shave, also.

 

doug e

[Marius]

Here's a very straightforward and clear video of simple maintenance for nihonto. This is what everyone is talking about. Maintenance kits are available online from many sources. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLnAWCABGUE

 

Two remarks about this video:

 

1. there are strong arguments against using uchiko - it is abrasive and might scratch the blade, especially when too much pressure is applied. Frequent use of uchiko may adversly affect the polish. There was a whole debate about this and it should be easy to find on this board.

 

2. the sword should be taken out of its tsuka before it gets oiled - otherwise the area under the habaki and the polished part of the nakago may develop rust

[cspage]

Good points, Mariusz. I stand corrected. I did consider the non-removal of the tsuka in this video, but was sloppy in my recommendation. I will look for the uchiko debate. Thanks.

 

Colin

 

PS. Finally someone got back on subject and away from the smell of choji oil. I would still like to see the original query addressed further, as I'm sure John would. I am still puzzled about his designation of "My concern was the specifics for a blade older than 100 years..."

[Curgan]

Goo I am still puzzled about his designation of "My concern was the specifics for a blade older than 100 years..."

 

A form of art like a nihonto, cant be considered equal with a modern production blade IMHO. It deserves more respect and care and that must be reflected in its maintenance also...

[sanjuro]

Perhaps I am a little thick, but what difference should there be between the maintenance of a new sword and one that is over 100 years old? Given they are not dissimilar in nature or material or method of manufacture and they are not recently polished, which would require more frequent oiling since the interstices in the surface are more prone to promote rusting, what special treatment is required by one over the other and why?

 

I have owned a number of swords in the thirty odd years since I first started collecting. None have ever rusted and I certainly have never damaged the level of polish from maintaining them in the traditionally recommended way with uchiko and choji oil. I have never owned a sword that is less than 300 years old so this interests (and puzzles) me.

[Stephen]

blades cure with age, i stand guilty of uchikoing a new polish which at once showed marks from the powder, very fine but there none the less. Id only use uchiko in showing how its done or if its not in good polish , weekly use will bring out actvity.

[FBJ]

I'm a nihonto noob, but in my research in preparation for my own shinsakuto that's coming, I found the following. Feel free to rap my knuckles (lightly) for anything that sounds outrageous:

 

Instead of uchiko, use the purest ethanol/isopropyl alchohol you can find (at least 98%) for cleaning the blade between oilings. Use a microfibre cloth when doing so to minimize any chance at affecting the blade. Yep, this has been recommended by at least one sword society person. Inadvertently dropping names here.

 

I suppose the frequency of oilings depends on a number of factors, but erring on the side of caution is always best -- use a thin mineral-based oil (others have suggested machine oils, etc.). I'll probably be using a combination of clove oil and a thin mineral oil from my local pharmacy, mixed in the usual 1:10 choji-mineral ratio. Apply with a separate cut of microfibre cloth.

 

Between ethanol/choji applications, I have heard musings that the occasional use of uchiko serves to enhance a polish; no idea about that personally.

 

As I'm a iaido practitioner, I'd be doing this before and after every class. If your sword is a collectible/has a higher end polish, I'd imagine once a month isn't too often, but make of it what ye will. As to maintaining the tang, I've heard all manner of things about how one has to be careful about not overdoing its care as it could negatively affect a sword's worth. I'll leave that to the pros here.

 

Mike

[John A Stuart]

I do not know how the ersatz choji available is made, but, experimented with trying to make my own a long time ago. The two oils were not miscible and I used high grade mineral oil and USP clove oil. I learned to leave that to the people who know how to do it and only get choji oil from very reputable dealers (not cheap kits), after all, what is under a hundred dollars compared to thousands invested in swords? As to uchiko, I do not use it on my swords that have been polished recently, last hundred years, however, those in old polish, I do. I have seen at kantei uchiko used and at sword exhibitions by the NBTHK it used by the staff prior to storing the swords back in shirasaya for the night. These are people being instructed by the hub of nihonto study. Again high grade uchiko not cheap kit stuff. It requires a deft touch and if unsure it would be much better to wipe your blades with a microfiber cloth rather than risk damaging the polish. It is a lot easier to correct habits of a non-harmful type than to re-polish a sword. John

[sanjuro]

In a related and appropriate vein, I have noticed that there are distinct differences in what is sold as Uchiko. I have at least three different types which have been supplied to me over the years, all as part of expensive kits, not the cheap variety.

 

At the lower end, intended for use on Iaito (Alloy blade) the powder is what appears to be talcum powder. This kit was supplied with the Iaito. The powder is extremely neutral and I would imagine non abrasive. I used the Iaito for a long time and the finish never suffered through many cleanings pre and post practice.

 

As a middle quality, I also have a type which was part of an expensive sword cleaning kit, which appears to be more like those described above by John. Again I have used this for quite some time without ill effect, although it requires a light touch in use.

 

The third type is a traditional uchiko supplied to me by a sword polisher in Japan after I had a sword polished by him many years ago. This I understand, is the dried and filtered slurry from the final stage of polishing. It is a beautiful fine and silky powder which is not white like the other two. I use this very occasionally and lightly perhaps once every year only on my best swords, With no detrimental effect over a long period of time. I was warned that this is slightly abrasive when used frequently.

 

I was wondering as a result of this topic what the first two types may have been made of and which is considered by the board members to be the most genuine type.

[Jamie]

"The third type is a traditional uchiko supplied to me by a sword polisher in Japan after I had a sword polished by him many years ago. This I understand, is the dried and filtered slurry from the final stage of polishing. It is a beautiful fine and silky powder which is not white like the other two. I use this very occasionally and lightly perhaps once every year only on my best swords, With no detrimental effect over a long period of time. I was warned that this is slightly abrasive when used frequently."

 

I think this one.

[b.hennick]

The best uchiko, I use, comes from Bob Benson. He is a well-known US sword polisher. He makes his own uchiko. I have had one from him for years. It does a wonderful job without any damage to the blade. I also use microfibre cloths. In addition I have a separate uchiko ball of lower quality that I use on not so clean blades. I use Bob's on polished blades. I do not want to transfer anything from an unpolished blade to one of my freshly polished blades. Bob's uchiko cost me about $45. It seems like a lot compared to the "kit uchiko" but when compared to the cost of swords it is not a lot to pay for top quaility uchiko. When you think about how much a polish costs and how long it takes - you will, I hope, use the best uchiko available.

Bob usualy has some available at sword shows and probably will send it out to you if ordered from his web-site.

[sanjuro]

In an above post by Mike,the use of ethanol as a flushing agent between oilings was mentioned. Surely this is against the theory that the oil on the blade actually fills up the tiny interstitial openings in the surface of the blade and thereby prevents rusting. If you flush the blade with ethanol each time you clean the blade, it defeats the purpose surely? Or is at best unnecessary? :?

 

I can see the value of flushing with alcohol or ethanol if the blade is dirty and unkempt for some reason, like when the blade has been long neglected, or stored without cleaning. Some gendaito for instance have not been cleaned for years prior to being sold to a collector. It would then be a one-off to clean prior to oiling with new oil. As a regular practice with a Nihonto in polish or a good state of preservation however, it seems redundant.

[Curgan]

Exactly the conversation I wanted to start! My thanks to all noteworthy fellow forumites, who posted and will keep posting their experience. Your help is invaluable, since there are no nihonto enthusiasts in my area to share opinions...

 

BTW I am thinking of using a silk cloth for oil wiping (cut from an old dress) combined with paper tissue instead of nuguigami. Any opinions there?

 

PS Where can one get high quality clove oil and uchiko powder in the EU (other than the medium quality contained in most maintenance kits)?

[Brian]

We have to stop calling this stuff "clove oil" as it is going to cause ppl to use pure clove oil. That is good for toothache, but does nothing good for swords.

Remember that choji oil is mainly light machine oil (or whatever oil they are using) mixed with a tiny amount of clove oil....purely for scent. We are talking about drops here, not much at all. I am unawar eof any benefit to the clove oil besides the scent. Maybe it has/had some positive benefit, but not enough to risk a sword overdose on it. Stick with the professionally mixed choji oil.

 

Brian

[sanjuro]

In deference to our great leader's wishes, I shall henceforth refer to the appropriate mixed chamelia oil and oil of cloves, as Token Abura or Choji Abura as the Japanese do. The first meaning sword oil and the second meaning choji oil. No..... on second thoughts lets just stick to Token Abura, The second one, because choji is Japanese for clove, may confuse the neophyte Japanese.

 

Let's just think of this as a To Ken gesture...........

 

Sorry Brian...... I couldn't resist making this comment. Consider this as evidence of a character flaw on my part.

[Brian]

Keith,

That was more in direct reply to the post above mine:

PS Where can one get high quality clove oil and uchiko powder in the EU..

High quality clove oil is just asking for someone to go to their pharmacy and buy and use pure clove oil, no?

 

Brian