Maintenance of Japanese sword
Correct maintenance process for Katana
Japanese swords require regular maintenance to maintain their good condition. Professional researchers spend a considerable amount of time researching
Grinding a new sword or repairing an ancient sword, these final decorative details must be carefully protected. Japan has developed many habits or rules for maintaining swords, and in order to maintain their good condition, they must be carefully followed.
According to Japanese customs, bow to the Japanese sword before examining it.
Untie the sword bag and take out the Japanese sword
Japanese swords are usually stored in specially designed cloth bags. According to custom, after picking up the sword, one should first
It bows and takes it out of the cloth bag.
Untie the cloth strip that binds the bag opening and remove the blade and SAYA from the bag. Then use the four fingers of one hand Grasp the handle tightly and apply force to SAYA with the thumb of the same hand, gently and accurately separating the blade from SAYA. This practice can ensure that the blade slowly emerges from its sheath and will not damage SAYA or the wielder due to excessive movement.
If SAYA buckles tightly, use both hands and two Apply force simultaneously with the thumb to release the blade and SAYA And slowly pull it out, using your thumb as a brake For car use. Wait until the blade loosens, then Completely extract from SAYA. In order to make The possibility of damage to the carefully ground blade
Lowering to the lowest point, the speed should be slow when drawing the sword, and the blade needs to Up, facing the ceiling board. When the blade is pulled out, it should only be pulled along The surface of the blade slides, and if the blade is downward, it will Cutting to the scabbard: If the sword is pulled sideways, it will eventually be ground There are visible scratches on the surface of the.
The design of the Japanese sword will make the blade fully fit with SAYA and Koiguchi, so when drawing the sword SAYA must be loosened before. When preparing to draw a sword, grab it with your right hand Hold the handle of the knife while using the thumb of your right hand to push SAYA forward, allowing SAYA to align with the handle of the sword Separate. This can prevent excessive force during sword drawing, causing the sword to suddenly fall out of the SAYA Eject. The right thumb and right hand grasping on the handle and SAYA have a braking effect, Allow the blade to move only a short distance when it first emerges from its sheath.
When drawing a sword, one can only pull it out along the back of the blade that is not sharp, and then retract the sword. SAYA also needs to be very careful.
Firstly, wipe the surface with a clean piece of Japanese paper or tissue. Wrap the blade with paper in hand,Wipe along the surface of the blade from the bottom towards the tip. When wiping to the tip area, let the paper leave the sword
Return to the bottom of the blade and wipe it forward. Do not move the paper in the opposite direction to wipe, as the reflection action of humans is related to the curvature of the blade. If you use this direction to wipe, it is easy to accidentally pinch the blade and cut your fingers.
Strike the entire blade with uchiko
After wiping off the oil and dust on the blade, then Go on 'uchiko'. This is a very fine A grinding powder that can absorb moisture and remove the surface of the blade Any dust or moisture on the surface. Wrap the powder in two layers of material, the first layer is cotton, and wrap it with a layer of cloth outside, then tie it up with thread To form a ball shape, because there is a hanging cloth at the end of the ball, The whole thing looks a bit like a lollipop. Grasp the pendant Cloth, gently pat the powder ball along the surface of the blade A fine white powder is left on the surface of the blade, and the blade Both sides of it need to be slapped.
Next, wipe off the baking powder with a clean piece of paper. The paper moves from the bottom of the blade to the tip, following the beginning Wipe the blade once, only from the bottom of the blade to the blade Sharp. After wiping off the powder, the surface of the blade should be very dry Clean, no traces of dust or moisture can be seen. Here we go Here, you can start to carefully examine the blade and observe the aforementioned features such as the blade text and subway. After inspection, the blade needs to be wiped again before retracting the scabbard Wipe once. Because if there is residual soil or ash on the surface of the blade Dust, fingerprints, saliva, or other moisture can all affect The blade embedded in the scabbard causes damage. Any remaining Foreign substances on the blade, or any contact between the skin and the blade Any contact will form rust spots in just a few hours. Therefore, the blade must be wiped again and then lightly powdered Pat, wipe off, and apply a thin layer of oil (usually using Japanese
Clove oil or camellia oil).
When applying oil, first drop a few drops of oil onto the cotton cloth, and then
Wipe the surface of the blade with a cloth, leaving a layer of protective oil. Wipe
The method is the same as when wiping: clip the cloth from the back of the sword
Hold the blade and wipe it away from the bottom to the tip.
The final step of inspection is to retract the sword Go back to SAYA. Hold the sword with your right hand, blade facing upwards, and carefully handle the sword
Insert the tip into the Koiguchi of SAYA, slowly push the sword into its sheath, and use the sword Slide in the back surface. After the blade is completely sheathed, gently Push the bottom of the sword handle to make it completely close to SAYA
Merge. After properly collecting the sword into SAYA, it is usually reused
Put it in a protective bag. Fold the bag around the end of the handle Okay, then wrap the rope attached to the bag around the sword handle tightly.
how to keep katana from rusting?
From ancient times to the present day, never get around a problem, that is, how to properly care for their beloved sword, because even the modern stainless steel knives, is not completely will not rust, just the probability of rust is lower, and stainless steel is seldom used to make a longsword, either not enough hardness or toughness is too little, so today we talk about how to keep katana from rusting!Iron and oxygen in the air, water molecules after the reaction, oxidation to generate iron oxide, understand the principle of rust, then you can prescribe the right medicine, first of all, clean off the water stains on the knife, and then coated with oil on the body which can be a very good isolation of oxygen and water molecules in the air, rust will not be formed.
Precautions for using a samurai sword
In addition to the oxygen and water molecules in the air can cause katana to rust, we also have to pay attention to salt and acid, salt can act as a catalyst in the oxidation reaction, accelerating the speed of iron rust, and iron in the acid environment is more prone to oxygen-absorbing corrosion, so in the use of katana, be sure to pay attention to not touching the knife directly with your hands, the hands of the sweat stains will cause oxidation and rust on the body of the knife, after chopping any object you need to clean up the body of the knife coated with oil, so that it will not rust.
Maintenance frequency of Katana
The frequency of katana maintenance varies from region to region due to the different climatic environments. In dry inland cities, the air is not particularly humid, so the maintenance intervals can be longer, while in humid coastal cities, the air is humid and the katana has to be cared for diligently. Especially during the rainy season, when the air is very humid, katana is most prone to rust.
Maintenance of Nakago
To facilitate the maintenance of the nakago (stem means tang), first we have to learn how to disassemble the tsuka.
The katana tsuka is held in place by the mekugi, to disassemble an assembled katana, first locate the mekugi on the handle, then remove the mekugi, then gently tap the outside of the handle to loosen it so that the handle can be disassembled without any problems, and then disassemble the Seppa tsuba habaki one at a time, sometimes the habaki and the Sometimes the habaki and tsuba will be stuck tightly to the blade. Please do not use too much force when disassembling, otherwise the tsuba and habaki will be damaged. The blade of the katana is very sharp, if you need to hold the blade in your hand to complete the disassembling work, please be sure to put a thick enough towel on it to prevent cuts to the palm of your hand.
After removing katana's tsuka, we need to remove the debris on the nakago, although the nakago looks black, in fact, the surface is a layer of stable oxidation layer, not rust, if you find rust on the nakago, you should remove it and then apply a layer of oil, and then clean up the inside of the tsuka of the wood shavings of dust, and then it can be re-installed!
What about the katana scabbard koiguchi too loose?
The katana is very easy to make the koiguchi too loose to hold the habaki due to the frequent pulling out of the blade during practice or the wood shrinking and warping.So it is very easy to cause koiguchi too loose, not tightly stuck habaki, you can use sageo to tie tsuba to prevent falling out, you can also cut a thin slice of wood, and then stick on the inner wall of koiguchi, so that the inner wall of koiguchi to increase the thickness of the increase in the area of contact with the habaki, and then use a file to repair the inner wall to adjust the tightness or smooth it out. Of course, it is important to observe the size of the contact gap between the koiguchi and the knife holder in advance, so as not to cut too thickly that the knife will not fit into the sheath. If you can't control the thickness of the pieces, you can also use wood flour, sprinkle a layer of it on the inside of the koiguchi, glue it down, and then use a file to adjust the shape and tightness of the koiguchi.
saya care
Many katana collectors, especially those who live in dry climates or indoor heated environments, suffer from deformation and cracking of the sheaths of their swords. The scabbard of a katana is made of multiple layers of lacquer. An occasional wipe with a soft cloth is all that is needed to keep the sabbard shiny. When holding the scabbard, it is important to hold the upper part of the sheath by the sageo, otherwise the lacquered part of the scabbard will leave a fine mark that will dull the color of the saya.
How to choose katana care oil
Maintenance frequency is not only related to the seasonal climate environment, the choice of maintenance oil is also very important, maintenance oil is broadly divided into three categories of mineral oil, vegetable oils, and animal oils, excessively viscous maintenance oil, can be very good insulation from the air, but easy to deposit dust, to avoid the use of corrosive oils, such as gun oil, to avoid the use of volatile oils such as gasoline, etc., some people say that the camellia oil, but also the seed oil is authentic, but the main purpose of the application of the oil is to insulate the air from the humidity, so you can also use the sewing machine oil and vaseline oil 1 to 1 mixture of oil, cheaper and also used!