Cleaning fingerprints off shinsakuto

[jasongarabedian]

Just got a new blade for my iaido practise from an overseas seller but there are heaps of fingerprint marks all over the sword blade. Not expensive nihonto, but still irritating nonetheless. Any advise on how to clean the fingerprints off the blade?

 

Happy New Year

 

Jason Garabedian

[eternal_newbie]

Microfiber cloth is your best bet, but plain white tissue will work with a bit of effort.

 

If you can find some, use a bit of denatured/isopropyl alcohol (99% or higher) to make sure the finger grease is completely gone.

 

Happy new year!

 

Rohan G

[Chris Osborne]

Since this is a sword for training and doesn't have a high end polish you can use a product called Noxon7. Noxon works through a reducing agent that breaks down oxidation so therefore it's virtually non-abrasive and if used properly will not affect the polish. Keep in mind though that even a dry, soft cloth can make a shiny spot if overused. Providing that a gentle wipe down with alcohol doesn't remove the prints(and it most likely won't) then apply noxon with a soft cloth and gently rub it in and allow it to sit for a minute or two but not dry. Then rub it lightly some more. You can repeat this a few times and be sure to work a larger area and not just a very small spot. I've removed rust spots in the ji on freshly polished blades like this without any noticeable effects to the finish. Best of luck.

 

Chris

[Ken-Hawaii]

Jason, you need to determine whether your blade is an iaito (usually made from an aluminum alloy) or a shinken (live, sometimes sharp, blade made from steel). If you have a steel blade with a real (not acid-etched) hamon, you will want to treat it the same way you would a Nihonto.

 

Fingerprints themselves are just globs of oil which can be easily removed a number of ways. Start with denatured (NOT isopropyl!! Denaturing removes the water) alcohol on a soft cloth, followed by an immediate wipe-down with a different soft, dry cloth to remove all liquid. Then you can simply oil the blade lightly to preclude rust. If the blade has rusted because of fingerprints or anything else, then you get to decide on whether you want to use Chris' method of applying Noxon - great stuff, but definitely abrasive - or getting the rust removed by a togi. Hopefully, your iaito is aluminum-based so you can use pretty much anything to clean it.

 

Good luck!

[Stephen]

have they started to rust, or just the prints?

[cabowen]

If they have started to rust you are mostly out of luck....

[Stephen]

  Quote

If they have started to rust you are mostly out of luck....

 

Thats where i was heading, start with wiping them off before anything at all.

[Chris Osborne]

Had a friend bring a freshly polished sword to a seminar I was at and he was very upset because a spot of rust had formed next to the hamon. In about five minutes, to his amazement and relief, the rust spot was removed without altering the color of the ji or hamon at all. Fortunately it was fresh and had not yet started to pit the blade, so after it was gone there was no trace it had ever been there. I've also removed fingerprints with noxon many times where people were told the sword would need refinishing to remove them. Noxon does have some extremely mild abrasiveness, but it's abrasiveness is hardly(if any) more so than a cloth itself. It will not leave scratches on a burnished area nor will it shine or remove the finish in the ji..... "if used properly". Noxon doesn't work through abrasion, it breaks down oxidation through a chemical reaction. A small amount of wiping as the product works will aid the process and not cause harm, but scrubbing the spot vigorously will certainly lead to trouble.

 

Chris

[Ken-Hawaii]

Chris, Noxon does contain abrasives (pumice & limestone) according to its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) at http://www.rbnainfo.com/productpro/Prod ... template=1. It also contains oxalic acid & ammonium hydroxide, which appear to cancel each other out pH-wise, so I'm not sure just what chemical reactions take place in the cleaning process.

 

I've never used Noxon on a Nihonto, but am glad to hear that you've used it with good results, & I may try it the next time I do something stupid to one of my blades.

[Bruno]

I do like to try also but it seems that US sellers do not ship this product abroad.

 

Does anybody know one that could ship Noxon to France?

 

Thanks

[FBJ]

  Ken-Hawaii said:

Jason, you need to determine whether your blade is an iaito (usually made from an aluminum alloy) or a shinken (live, sometimes sharp, blade made from steel). If you have a steel blade with a real (not acid-etched) hamon, you will want to treat it the same way you would a Nihonto.

Bump.

 

Thought it was pretty clear myself. He has a Japanese made blade with a functional polish which he uses for iaido. That makes his sword a iaito, shinken and nihonto all the same. If it's a zinc aluminum alloy blade, we should be calling it a mogito as the Japanese do. In most cases they don't see the hard distinctions in swords us gaijin seem to.

 

I second the microfibre and ethanol advice. I use it on my Kanetsugu shinsakuto upwards of four times per week.

 

Mike