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Post by Artelmis on Aug 31, 2011 17:07:35 GMT
So, I got this tenchi about a week ago. I've only cut with it three times now (my neighbors are stingy with giving me their plastic bottles).
After each cutting, I'd wipe the blade off with WD40, polish it a little bit to remove anything that was camping out on the blade with very fine sandpaper, re-WD40 it, and then sheath it.
I'm probably doing something horribly wrong here (at least I hope it's my fault, cause that can be fixed)
The blade seems to be developing a strange black gick. It's limited exclusively to the sharp edge of the blade.
I just cleaned it off with the sandpaper and WD40 and the blade is currently sitting out of saya on my desk.
I'm rather afraid to re-sheath the blade for fear that this nonsense will come back and possibly destroy my new favorite cutting blade.
any help is appreciated.
thanks!
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 31, 2011 17:28:04 GMT
I would not use WD-40 as it's actually water based and can end up rusting the blade- especially if it is being deposited in the saya where it's being absorbed into the wood. Also, you should not have to be sanding the blade to clean it as that is slowly altering the blade shape and edge and opening the grain of the steel (I'm oversimplifying that explanation but you get what I mean).
It's possible you are sanding the blade and then sealing bits of that sanded steel/dust onto the blade with the WD-40.
Use a plain oil like sewing oil, light mineral oil, or a simple machine oil like 3 in 1 to clean the blade, wipe with cotton rags or paper towels, use alcohol (kind found in a pharmacy) for more hevy duty cleaning of gunk, or maybe windex. Final thin coat of oil again applied with a new clean cloth/paper towel.
It's also possible there is something dirty in the saya- try taking a q tip or something similar and checking the inside to see if ther is anything in there at the ha side.
If all you are cutting is bottles with water in them you should not have much trouble cleaning the blade- but are you cleaning the bottles out well first?
Does the edge catch on anything in th saya?
Pics of the gunk would help.
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 31, 2011 17:51:56 GMT
As far as I can see, the edge doesn't rub against anything in the saya. I could be wrong though as it's quite a snug fit and there's no rattling whatsoever. the gunk looks rather like a very fine black tar-esque substance. It's quite hard. I try to avoid touching the blade with my fingers so I didn't try to scrape it off with my hands. The saya could be moist inside, although I'm not sure why the growth would limit exclusively to the forward half of the blade edge (the part I cut with) I'll try airing the saya out and see if that changes anything. Unfortunately in Maryland, it's a tad humid this time of the year so I might just be having bad luck. I read on the old SBG forums that spraying the inside of the saya with silicon spray helps with the problem. sbgswordforum.proboards.com/inde ... read=13074 If the problem continues though, I might have to resort to an old priest and a young priest...
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 31, 2011 19:13:28 GMT
Hmmm, it is funny that it only shows up on the edge. I've heard people before having very heavy grease-like stuff in their saya, part of keeping the steel from rusting during storage and shipping.... but I can't figure why it's not everywhere.
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 31, 2011 19:19:17 GMT
Do you think coating the blade with silicon spray would help? or the Saya?
I have some 3-in-1 oil coming within the next day or two, but as an interim procedure? I think I'll keep the blade out of the sheath for now until my actual oil shows
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Aug 31, 2011 20:19:28 GMT
Maybe take a straightened out coat hanger and lightly scrape the ha side of the saya to see what comes out. If it's something in there then oil wont matter, but maybe it's something like what chrisperoni suggested, maybe some particles from sanding the blade getting mixed with the wd-40 and drying. Also, how do you store the sword. Blade up or down, or perhaps vertical? If it's in the saya, you will have to get it out. You can use the coat hanger, just make a loop at the end and thread a strip of cloth(dissolvable materials like paper towels not recommended,) and gently run it down. If you have a rifle cleaning kit then that will work as well. Use a dry cloth, don't want any wood to get wet and potentially cause rust or rot.
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 31, 2011 20:27:53 GMT
particles from sanding the blade getting mixed with the wd-40 and drying
this makes the most sense.
thanks guys!
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 31, 2011 21:58:54 GMT
Has the sanding done much to the finish of the blade? What number grit? Just curious.
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