BASICS ON JAPANESE SWORD STORAGE, CLEANING, AND HANDLING

www.theswordpolisher.com

If you are an experienced collector, you probably know all of this stuff all ready, but I'm sending it to everyone anyways. Give it a look. You might find something new that you didn't know or hadn't thought of.

Modern steels have nickle and chromium and other alloys added to make them resistant to rust. The first thing to understand is that a traditional Japanese blade is more or less a pure carbon steel. If you get moisture or finger prints on the blade it can develop permanent rust within a few days. It is MOST important to keep finger prints and moisture off the blade. Skin oils contain salts which will corrode the steel most quickly. Additionally, a newly polished blade has a very fine texture to the surface of the ji (body) and kissaki (point) as a result of the natural stone polishing. This texture is what allows you to see features of the hada (folding structure) and hamon (crystal structures of the cutting edge). If the surface was perfectly smooth, it would be a mirror and you would not see any of the forging details. The microscopic variances in the surface can make the newly polished blade even more susceptible to rust than a perfectly smooth surface, so this is not like any modern steel you may be familiar with and it will rust quickly if not properly cared for.

SAFETY

Your newly polished blade will most likely be freakishly sharp, so please handle with all appropriate care and respect. If your unmounted blade was returned in a temporary paper saya (kamisei no saya), there is a chance that the blade will eventually cut through the edge of the paper and become dangerous to handle if the paper saya is used over an extended period of time. The paper I use is special acid free smooth finish paper and ends up being about 15 layers thick when expertly folded into a temporary saya. It's safe and secure for shipping an unmounted blade if necessary, but do not use a paper saya for long term storage.

CLEANING AND OILING

A newly polished blade should be cleaned and oiled as soon as it is unpacked from shipping.

Never use any kind of polishing compound on a finely finished Japanese blade. That will ruin the polish by making the whole surface look uniform and shiny. Avoid using "mineral" oils such as gun oil or WD-40 on a Japanese blade unless it is some kind of sword cleaning emergency. You always want to use a natural Japanese choji or tsubaki oil for a mounted blade. A mineral based oil will do a good job of protecting the steel, but it will also soak into the wood of a mounting and saturate it over time. The oil in the wood can cause the lacquer or glue to release from a traditional saya. A natural vegetable oil (choji or tsubaki) will eventually evaporate out of the wood causing no damage. Mineral type oil will also cause surface halation which will throw off the color for proper viewing.

IMPORTANT: There is a lot of cheap bad choji oil for sale online these days. As a result, I am currently recommending the use of tsubaki (camellia) oil. This is a good alternative to choji oil and is consistently available in the US at very high quality and moderate price in the form of Kurobara Tsubaki oil. Available from Amazon and many other reputable US sellers.

For basic cleaning, use a common facial tissue such as kleenex (lotion free) or a Kimwipe. You do not want to use a piece of cloth or a cotton ball for cleaning an older blade. An older blade may have some tiny loose welds on the surface which could snag fibers from a cloth or cotton ball. Worst case scenario, a hooked cloth fiber could actually pull up a small burr on the surface of the blade! Wipe the blade in long lengthwise strokes. The slight abrasiveness of the fibers of the tissue or Kimwipe should be enough to remove light surface debris and old oil. Then simply wipe on a new thin coat of quality choji or tsubaki oil.

For more comprehensive cleaning uchiko is used. Uchiko is a cleaning powder made of ground up natural stone dust that is sometimes used to clean blades. The sword shouldn't need uchiko very often as long as you keep it clean, no finger prints or moisture. Uchiko powder is abrasive and will affect the polish over time. A good compromise is to use uchiko maybe every other cleaning, or once in a while as you feel it may be needed. If you buy uchiko powder, you want to get the large white colored ball and it should be from Japan. It may cost $25-$35 for a good quality uchiko which will consist of a silk ball full of uchiko powder on the end of a short stick. This will contain natural stone dust and be the least aggressive for your blade's finish. Other colored uchiko balls such as red or yellow, or uchiko from outside of Japan, usually contains a much cheaper and harsher abrasive such as zinc-oxide or aluminum-oxide which is very bad for a finely polished blade.

Any time the blade surface is contaminated with moisture or finger prints it must be cleaned and oiled immediately. Tap some uchiko powder onto the surface of the blade and carefully wipe off with a folded tissue using long lengthwise strokes. Then apply a fresh coat of choji oil. If you need a strong cleaning and do not want to use uchiko, you can use naphtha (zippo lighter fluid). This is a strong solvent for removing salt, moisture, wax, oils, etc. and will not harm the steel. Simply wipe some on and then wipe the residue off with a dry tissue. Any remaining residue will evaporate almost instantly. Make sure to apply a new coat of choji or tsubaki oil after using uchiko or naphtha as the blade will be stripped bare of its protective oil.

In case of EMERGENCY, WD-40 will do a fine job of cleaning and protecting the blade without harming the steel in any way. Just don't let the WD-40 come into contact with the wood of the saya or tsuka. To transition back to proper storage, simply remove the WD-40 from the surface with uchiko or naphtha and replace with proper choji or tsubaki oil.

STORAGE

IMPORTANT: If you have an old saya, there may be debris inside that can scratch the newly polished blade. It may also have acidic content such as very old spoiled oil which may cause the blade to rust. This is not to say that a blade should not be kept in an older shira-saya or historical mounting. Every saya that wasn't just made is "old" to one degree or another. The condition and manner in which the saya has been cared for is most important. It is just something to be aware of, and a warning to be extra vigilant, if you are using an older mounting.

NOTE: Western style glue such as typical wood glue or Elmer's glue is acidic even when dry, and will cause the blade to rust over time anywhere it touches the blade. If your saya has been split apart and reassembled using modern western glue, you probably need a new saya.

VERY IMPORTANT: A saya without a blade in it may have absorbed atmospheric humidity over time. If you put a blade in a saya with high humidity, it will rust quickly. Make sure your saya is very dry before putting it on your newly polished blade. To remove any moisture from a saya, leave the empty saya standing mouth pointing straight up in a sun beam or near a heat register. Be careful that it does not get too hot if it has modern lacquer instead of traditional Japanese urushi lacquer. Maintaining a temperature 10 to 20 degrees above room temperature for several hours to a few days should drive all of the humidity out of the wood and give your sword a nice dry resting place. Note: the "sun beam" method will only work in a hot dry climate. It will not work if it is humid and the saya is exposed to the humidity.

The blade must be stored in a low humidity environment, ie. not in the corner of the basement. You should check it every few days after receiving it back and wipe on an extra thin coat of oil as necessary. After a few weeks of regular checking and oil, you can cut back to checking on it about once a week for the next two or three weeks. This will ensure that all moisture has been driven out of the pores of the metal. After that it should have fresh oil applied to the surface about once a month, more or less as needed. If you are in a very dry or high altitude climate, once every three months might be enough. If you are in a high humidity climate or near the ocean, you might want to keep checking it once a week.

Many sword owners choose to keep their swords in a humidity controlled storage container or cabinet. To make a humidity controlled container, all you need is some kind of enclosed space like a china cabinet, or gun safe, or glass display case, or similar. It should not be air tight, but it should more or less contain a specific volume of air with limited leakage or air exchange. Then you get one or two electric GoldenRod Dehumidifier sticks, available on Amazon and many other places. Plug them in and set in the bottom of the case. Have maybe one or two small vent holes at the top of the case for moisture to escape. The rod will warm the interior space to a few degrees above room temperature over time. Moisture likes cold and is repelled by warmth. The slight difference in temperature will drive out moisture over time. I use 2 GoldenRod in the bottom of a large gun safe for storage.

The upper surfaces (shinogi-ji and mune) of a properly polished Japanese sword are burnished. This is where super hard steel burnishing blades and needles are used to compress the steel and close all of the pores in the surface. This is what gives the shinogi-ji and mune its distinctive mirror like surface and also imparts some degree of rust resistance. If possible the sword should be stored horizontally on a rack with its cutting edge pointing upward, so the blade rests on its mune (spine). This insures that only the back of the sword is in contact with the wood of the saya. This prevents the finished surface of the blade from having any interaction with the wood or any contamination within the saya.

HANDLING

When drawing the sword from the saya (scabbard) you want to hold the blade cutting edge up and slide it out along its mune (spine). Only the mune of the blade should be touching the wood of the saya. This again insures that the finely finished surface of the blade doesn't rub on the inner surface or mouth of the saya. The blade should be returned to the saya in the same manner. If you feel the edge of the blade rubbing on the wooden lining of the saya, adjust the angle so that the edge of the blade is not rubbing on the inside of the saya.

Try to avoid standing over or speaking over an exposed sword blade. Little flecks of spit or drips of sweat are known to make very nasty little rust spots in a very short period of time.

CUTTING

Generally speaking, you should not use an antique blade for cutting. A blade is strongest when it is brand new. Over time, as a blade is rusted, chipped, polished down, bent and straightened, it gets thinner and weaker. Try bending a paperclip back and forth several times and see what happens to the strength of the metal. Cutting with a tired blade risks doing serious damage to the blade and may even be dangerous if the blade fails.

Any cutting, even cutting "soft" targets such as goza, cardboard, or even slicing paper can leave fine diagonal scratches across the surface of a newly polished blade. These scratches, despite being extremely fine, may show quite prominently against the otherwise smooth surface of the blade and can not be removed without re-polishing. If you want to maintain the most perfect surface, do not do any cutting.

If you have a strong modern blade that you bought specifically for cutting, then have fun and go to town, but be aware the finish polish will eventually be scuffed up.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,
DAVE

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