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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2012 0:59:27 GMT
I am sorry I am sure this has been posted a few times but with so much bad and good information out there I don't know which is right.
I have run out of materials from my sword cleaning kits and it will be awhile before I can get another one. So with that said I have been looking for some products that would work. First I heard baby oil is okay, but someone told me no because it contains a lot of water and water and steel = bad, someone said WD-40 is okay but then someone said no it will make the katana sticky and it is hard to wipe off and putting the sword in the Saya with that on will get on the wood and that will be bad, then someone said 10W40 motor oil is the best but someone said motor oil has certain additives specifically designed for cars that would be bad for Katana's. Then someone told me the katana oil that comes in the cleaning kits themselves are bad!
And the powder in the kit... is that basically baby powder? And if it is not, would baby powder work?
I am so confused!
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2012 1:14:57 GMT
Thank you for this post! I have been up and down through so many forums on this and what one person says about a cleaning product being good someone will say it aint good. But i know for a fact baby oil is bad but as for everything else it has been back and forth.
ehhhh would be noobish to ask if you are supposed to oil, wipe down, powder, rub off, then polish... or is it powder rub oil wipe than wax on wax off? i had to karate kid reference soory hehehehe!
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Post by Maynar on May 30, 2012 1:17:30 GMT
It's been posted before, but what the hey- I'm bored. To clean a sword, all you really need is some light mineral oil, some 99% rubbing alcohol (both available at your local drugstore for cheap), and an old t-shirt. Use alcohol on the rag first, wipe off any old oil. Taks a fresh corner of the rag, apply a bit of mineral oil and apply to the sword. Bingo! Yer done. You don't need a uchiko ball as found in a traditional Japanese cleaning kit. It's great for ritual, but not required to get the job done. A few points: Any non-organic oil will do, not just mineral oil. Gun oil, 3-in-1, sewing machine oil, anything like that. Just nothing organic. Cooking oil is right out. There are some specialty substances like Militec that will work also. WD 40 doesn't rteally protect, it just gunks up the blade eventually, then you have to clean that off. You want the least amount of water in your alcohol, hence the 99%. The other one per cent is water. So, you don't want to buy 83% rubbing alcohol, etc. When you apply oil to a freshly cleaned blade, if you have too much oil you can see it "sagging" on the blade, even running off it you really overdid it. Wipe off the excess. General rule: if you can see the oil on the blade, there's too much. When it looks like you wiped it all off (you didn't), that's a good amount. You only want enough to protect the blade from humidity. Too much oil will run off in the saya and damage the wood. Be careful! With a katana or other single-edge blade, it's pretty simple. With a double-edged Euro, however, make damn sure safety is job one, or you'll be picking up your fingers off the floor. Enjoy!
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Post by ken~kata on May 30, 2012 1:43:22 GMT
O.K. "At risk of being Idiot of the Month"... Had to ask the "Think out of the Box" question.. I remember the auto industry had those Oils that you add to a new engine that Teflon Coated the bearing surface. Would a thin layer provide a "barrier" of protection" on the Steel? Maybe help make a cleaner cut too??? I know it would not be used on Valueble Swords, but, for everyday cutters??? Just askin'... I'm afraid to sign my name... A.K.T.
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Post by Maynar on May 30, 2012 6:43:03 GMT
From what I understand, if you use that Teflon coating stuff it works great- until you want to rebuild the engine. Then you find out it bonded to the metal, and a rebore is out of the question. Never having used it, this is only anecdotal.
Which if you never intend to rebuild, works fine I guess. YMMV. On topic, how that translates to weapons usage I personally have no experience. The MIlitec-1 substance I mentioned above, would be my first choice over anything designed for the automotive industry. Even though that info is also anecdotal, I'm thinking that would be a better choice since it is designed for weaponry. Other members have recommended it in the past.
Just MHO.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2012 11:49:20 GMT
This is how I do it.
Not wanting to advertise or anything but I used remington oil a lot, a green spray can, and that stuff sticks to the blade for a very long time without sagging or drying up. What also works great for oil is the cheapest, nastiest gun oil you can find. Preferably the thick, dark, smelly stuff they use in the army and comes in equally ugly cannisters. That stuff will make your sword survive the next world flood though xD
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Sam H
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Post by Sam H on May 30, 2012 12:27:26 GMT
Militec-1 grease. I apply a light coat then wipe it till its dry to the touch every 6 months. I cut water bottles, vegetables and tatami. I simply wipe off the blade till its dry then put it away. Re-grease like that in another 6 months or sooner if you want. No rust issues for me.
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Post by masahiro560 on May 30, 2012 15:53:39 GMT
My method is as follows Ingredients: Alcohol Choji Oil Uchiko made from Starch ((i'm poor ok?) Wipe down the blade first then apply uchiko then wipe uchiko off then apply alcohol then wipe it off and then apply choji oil The thing is my choji oil is unscented baby oil mixed in with a tiny tiny amount of clove oil for the scent i haven't had adverse effects with any of my blades and i haven't done this ritual for about two months ) I usually skip uchiko though since it makes my wooden floors into a winter wonderland If your blade has no hamon i just applied mother's mag and aluminum polish and wipe it off and not oil it. The fun thing with no hamon blades is that you can even customize your own "Protective hamon" Trace a hamon on the edge (I do it moderate thickness with tissue) with mother's mag and leave it there (I leave mine for maybe 15 mins.?) Wipe it off from the mune to edge and voila you have hamon made from the protective film of mother's mag It wipes off in the long run
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2012 1:04:52 GMT
Ah thank you! Finally a for sure answer. I found 4 other forums post about this but it was mainly 3 pages of people going back and forth about whats bad and whats good. And for every option to use to clean your sword there was someone who said it was bad. But from my research on this I have found baby oil really is bad due to the fact it contains a lot of water. So who ever posted about using that should probably think about using something else. Thank you again.
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Post by danmasamori on May 31, 2012 2:52:57 GMT
Yup, no baby oil. Get yourself some low viscosity mineral oil off of ebay. Or you could go to your local Walmart and pickup a botle of singer sewing machine oil.
I only use uchiko on my "working" swords. Since uchiko is somewhat abrasive, I do not recommend using it on any sword that you want to keep in its original polish, in its place I would simply use 99% isopropyl, or denatured alcohol.
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Post by doctorbanana on May 31, 2012 9:03:16 GMT
The ppl at my dojo first use a bit of Pikal metal polish on tissue to clean the blade. This stuff is great, ive also used it to clean rust off once. Then after that we spray some wd-40 on tissue and wipe.
Be sure not to wd 40 or oiling the blade first otherwise you risk staining it.
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Post by Kumdoalan on May 31, 2012 10:26:59 GMT
This is the answer I went with after checking out all kinds of ways people suggest to clean and oil my swords.
I found that I can use a small spray bottle for the rubbing alcohol, and spray the blade or a cloth. I found that mineral oil is cheap and works like a charm.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2012 9:04:10 GMT
Anybody else believes in a wash using dishwashing soap, a wipe down, and followed by WD40? It works for me.
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Post by nddave on Jun 1, 2012 9:34:46 GMT
Lint free cloths, 3in1, flitz, and steel wool. That's what's in my cleaning bag. I primarily use flitz for cleaning and maintenance. and I only oil my blades in the winter. And the steel wool for the pommels and guards on my European swords.
The whole $15.00 cleaning kit thing is kinda ridiculous in my opinion. Now freebees with a new sword is a cool bonus. But there's really no purpose to them aside from the ones with the little mekugi hammer. Those are cool.
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Post by ineffableone on Jun 1, 2012 11:42:36 GMT
Yep the kits are really only worth it for the mekugi hammer, which you can find sold separately so people don't need to bother with the kits really.
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Post by danmasamori on Jun 2, 2012 2:03:09 GMT
I wouldn't use wd40 if were you, it does evaporate fairly quickly, so depending on how often you are using your swords, you may be leaving them unprotected.
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Sam H
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Post by Sam H on Jun 2, 2012 2:09:45 GMT
Dish soap, wash and wipe then oil is fine. WD40 is good for getting especially difficult gunk off your blade but not for rust prevention.
Seriously you guys are over doing it. I clean (as in really clean it) maybe once every 6 months. Then I give it a very light coat of Militec-1 grease, wipe it till its dry to the touch and put the sword away. After I cut with it I wipe it down with a dry cloth and put it away. If its got sticky gunk I'll either clean it with WD40 or window cleaner then re-apply Militec-1 grease, wipe till dry to the touch and put it away. Currently since I haven't cut with my sword in over a year its sat in its saya since then without being touched or oiled. No rust.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2012 21:24:30 GMT
Well I use my Musashi Bamboo Katana almost everyday, mainly because it is brand new and I can't keep my hands off it lol. And as I was told, I am cleaning the blade down after every time I cut. I did not want to keep using the cleaning kit I bought to do this as I would run out way to fast, which is exactly what hapened. Just looking for some house hold products to do this with.
I used the light mineral oil and 99% rubbing alcohol which is what Maynar suggested. I have used WD-40 before but it makes the inside of the Saya all messed up and smelly. I am kinda wondering about the motor oil, there was only 1 person who said it was a bad idea, and dozens of other people keep recommending this. Has anyone actually used the motor oil?
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Post by nddave on Jun 2, 2012 23:28:31 GMT
Just keep using the mineral oil, or if you want to go the easy route buy some flitz polish. It's great at cleaning and protecting. I actually prefer it over oils.
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Post by danmasamori on Jun 4, 2012 17:59:43 GMT
I haven't used motor oil and wouldn't. Keep on with the light mineral oil. Motor oil tends to be thick and gooey and you don't want all of that crap building up inside your saya.
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