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Post by marki on Nov 29, 2011 10:19:52 GMT
Hi Guys,
Ran into a few issues with my favorite katana, wondering if it's something I should attempt to fix myself.
Earlier this year, I received a custom L6 katana and has been putting it on display unsheathed since. Been applying choji oil to the blade every 2-3 weeks but have recently discovered some rust dots appearing along the blade.
Now, place where I live is pretty dry humidity wise, plus the oil so this came as a surprise to me. Additionally, my other L6 blade did not encounter the same issue whilst being kept in a 'heavily' oiled up sheath.
I've tried polishing out the stains with a electric car polishing tool (with miniature tip) It kind of worked though it did lightly scratch the blade hence I'm not too keen on continue using it.
Second issue is a sharp 'snap' sound can be heard when the blade is swung horizontally - this seems to originate from the point where the tsuka is touching the tsuba. I've been told this is probably caused by the wood shrinking in Australia's dryer climate and can be rectified by taking the blade apart and inserting small wood pieces to fill the gap.
Now, it does sound reasonable, however I've found it difficult to undo the menkugi pins, they seem really tight. Plus, being quite inexperienced at this task, I'd rather not risk damaging the katana.
What would you guys suggest, attempt to repair it myself, leave it be, or is there any Australian sword restorers who may be able to help out, thanks!
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Post by Neovenetar on Nov 29, 2011 16:27:49 GMT
hmmm, seems like quite a predicament, have you been applying whetstone powder as well as choji oil?
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Post by Vue on Nov 30, 2011 9:08:18 GMT
Oiling every 2-3 weeks is too much, depending on where you're located in Oz. I'm in Sydney and I only oil my swords four times per year with a fairly thin coat of Choji. May I ask what brand of Choji you are using? as quality varies a lot depending the brand.
I've personally have never experience tsuka core shrinking to that extent but it's plausible, the best thing you could do now is to take the sword apart and maybe take photo's and post it here so we could understand your situation better and maybe then we could provide you with the appropriate advice/ remedy.
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Post by marki on Dec 1, 2011 10:25:48 GMT
I've been switching between mineral oil from a pharmacy and the choji oil that came with a sword cleaning kit, not sure which brand it is.
Will try to take the sword apart, but its really quite tightly fitted. Any advise on how I should get around the tightness?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2011 14:36:19 GMT
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Post by lamebmx on Dec 1, 2011 18:35:43 GMT
You mentioned not being able to get the mekugi out. If they are properly made, they are a cone shape inserted at an angle. One side will be slightly smaller than the other. tap them out from the small side. A mekuginuki help, though about anything a little smaller in diameter than the mekugi, flat and safe to hit with a rubber mallet would suffice. Dont sledge hammer it, in my limited experience they are snug enough to not just push out. But the little brass hammer punch is just enough extra kick to get them moving.
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Post by marki on Dec 2, 2011 22:50:36 GMT
Ok, was able to hammer out the pins with some effort, didn't notice any rattling or 'stuff'' falling out of the handle. Not sure exactly what I was looking for so I put it back together, now the snapping sound is almost gone, atleast 80% better than before. The only issue is the tiny rust spectacles that's covering one side of the blade. Tried using machine oil and one of them dish-washing clothes, didn't work What do you guys think?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2011 23:03:28 GMT
Hello Marki,
If it is very light rust, you could remove it with metal some polish such as flitz and metal glo. I presume it is the rust on the blade and not on the tang (nakago).
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Post by Vue on Dec 3, 2011 0:56:32 GMT
Marki - your rust issue might be caused by the over use of the mineral/ machine oil, try to air dry the saya without the blade for a while and in the process check to see if more rusts appears on your blade.
Note: You could use flitz or metal glo like members here suggest but know that the polish will be ruin by doing so. I would recommend try and use the Uchiko powder first as Uchiko is a very fine polishing powder.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2011 1:24:11 GMT
Yup Vue has a point, any metal polish I mentioned are abrasive and will alter your polish especially if your sword has very fine finish on it. You might be able to try something less abrasive like Uchiko (don't use those cheap Hanwei ones, get those that's made from Japan) or even other "cleaners" such as nevr dull though I doubt you could remove much with it. As usual always try sometime less abrasive and move to more abrasive substance to remove stubborn rust.
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Post by marki on Dec 3, 2011 1:29:24 GMT
Thanks for the advice guys, I've been leaving the blade out bare without its saya for most of this time, would this be causing this issue? Been informed this may not be normal rust, but oxidization of 'unevenly distributed metal during forging'?! I'm not inclined to believe that so I took a picture, what do you guys think? Uploaded with ImageShack.us
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2011 2:04:13 GMT
Yeah that could be it though especially if the blade is heavily oiled and it attracts dust over an extended period of time.
To me the blade looks pretty pristine though, are you referring to the sprinkled oxidization?
Give something light like nevr dull a try and see if it does the trick. Always polish in one direction (from the direction of the blade near the habaki to the kissaki). Don't polish in circular motions.
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Post by marki on Dec 3, 2011 22:21:58 GMT
Cool cool, thanks heaps Jerry! Will sheath the blade and get some Nevr-dull asap!
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Post by 14thforsaken on Dec 5, 2011 15:21:36 GMT
Mother's Mag car polish is a very minor abrasive you can try or Brasso. I've used both and while they are abrasive they are less so than Metal Glow. Mother's Mag is very good at taking off Hanwei's frosted hamon and reveling the real one underneath.
Also, are you cleaning off the old layer of oil before re-oiling? If you aren't that can lead to rusting issues in that you are trapping any moisture buildup or corrosives under the new layer of oil and not getting them cleaned off in the first place. Before I re-oil a blade I always clean off the old coat with 90% isoprophoyl(sp?) alcohol.
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