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A katana is made out of carbonsteel. You
must clean your katana to prevent it from rusting. You must
do this after tameshigiri (cutting exercises) or after you
have used it in the dojo. Also if you have touched the blade,
it is adviced to clean your sword. Otherwise you might get
rust fingerprints.
If
you clean your sword, use the proper tools. You don't want
to risk your sword being damaged. What you need is different
for a quick cleaning and for a more intensive cleaning.
A traditional maintenance kit contains everything that you
need.
What
You Need
Nuguigami: Wiping Paper for Sword Made of a soft, sensitive
pulp tissue Made exclusively for wiping your sword. Wipes
off the excessive oil and unnecessary dust. Common substitutes
are soft paper towels or tissue paper.
Wiping cloth: A flannel cloth, old towel,
or hand-cloth can be used for quick cleaning to wipe debris
and residue from the blade after tameshigiri or handling.
This cloth can be reused multiple times. Nuguigami, paper
towels, or tissue paper can also be used, but should not
be reused.
Choji Oil: A superb rust preventive oil.
This is not clove oil which will cause your blade to rust.
Never use oil with water in it.
Oiling Cloth: Flanel cloth in a storage
case used to apply a coating of choji oil to the blade.
This cloth can be reused multiple times. Nuguigami, paper
towels, or tissue paper can also be used, but should not
be reused.
Uchiko Ball: Finely ground stone powder
(hazuya and jizuya) in a silk ball.
Quick
Cleaning
Your should do a quick cleaning immediately after handled
your sword or after performing tameshigiri (test cutting).
This cleans off any corrosive residue off the blade.
1.Prepare all the materials you need before
removing the katana from the saya (scabbard). You will not
be setting the katana down and everything you don't do here
will need to be done with one hand. You will need a wiping
cloth, oiling cloth, and choji oil (sword oil). Make sure
the oiling cloth is saturated with choji oil.
1.Carefully remove the blade from the saya.
The saya should be held in the left hand and the sword should
be drawn out with the right hand. The left hand should remain
motionless with the right hand doing the effort. The sword
is held edge up and the blade should slide on the mune (back
surface away from edge). The kissaki (tip) of the katana
should be always be kept pointing slightly upwards. This
is a good habit since a katana may not always have a mekugi
(bamboo pin in handle) to keep the tsuka (handle) on.
2.Gently tap any debris from the saya (scabbard). Tameshigiri
(test cutting) often leaves pieces of the target on the
blade and these can build up in the saya. These can cause
the blade to become corroded and eventually cause the katana
to not seat properly. The koiguchi (mouth) of the saya can
be tapped on a semi-hard surface, but care should be taken
since the water buffalo horn ring on some saya tend to fracture.
The saya can then be laid down on your left side.
3.Wipe any debris and residue from the blade with the wiping
cloth. Hold the tsuka (handle) in your left hand with the
ha (edge) pointed away from yourself. Lay the wiping cloth
on the top of the blade at the habaki (blade collar). Wipe
only in one direction from the tsuba (guard) to the kissaki
(tip). Use your thumb running along the mune (back of the
katana) to keep you fingers away from the ha (edge). You
should only need to wipe the blade once or twice, but make
sure all residue has been removed. Lay the wiping cloth
on your hand and repeat the process on the bottom of the
blade. If your katana has bo-hi (grooves) make sure you
wipe them by pinching the wiping cloth between your fingers.
4.Oil the blade using the oiling cloth. This is the same
process as the previous step. The blade only needs to be
wiped once. The entire surface of the blade needs to be
covered. Try not to get too much oil on or under the habaki
(blade collar).
5.Put the katana back in the saya reversing the process
used to remove it. The katana should not be slammed back
into the saya since this can damage the koiguchi (mouth)
of the saya.
Normal Cleaning
You should do a normal cleaning before putting the sword
away. This should be done at home after training.
1.Prepare all the materials you need before
removing the katana from the saya (scabbard). You will not
be setting the katana down and everything you don't do here
will need to be done with one hand. You will need two pieces
of nuguigami (wiping paper), oiling cloth, choji oil (sword
oil), and an uchiko ball (cleaning powder). Make sure the
oiling cloth is saturated with choji oil.
2.Carefully remove the blade from the saya. The saya should
be held in the left hand and the sword should be drawn out
with the right hand. The left hand should remain motionless
with the right hand doing the effort. The sword is held
edge up and the blade should slide on the mune (back surface
away from edge). The kissaki (tip) of the katana should
be always be kept pointing slightly upwards. This is a good
habit since a katana may not always have a mekugi (bamboo
pin in handle) to keep the tsuka (handle) on.
3.Gently tap any debris from the saya (scabbard). Tameshigiri
(test cutting) often leaves pieces of the target on the
blade and these can build up in the saya. These can cause
the blade to become corroded and eventually cause the katana
to not seat properly. The koiguchi (mouth) of the saya can
be tapped on a semi-hard surface, but care should be taken
since the water buffalo horn ring on some saya tend to fracture.
The saya can then be laid down on your left side.
4.Wipe any choji oil from the blade with a clean piece of
nuguigami (wiping paper). Hold the tsuka (handle) in your
left hand with the ha (edge) pointed away from yourself.
Lay the nuguigami on the top of the blade at the habaki
(blade collar). Wipe only in one direction from the tsuba
(guard) to the kissaki (tip). Use your thumb running along
the mune (back of the katana) to keep you fingers away from
the ha (edge). You should only need to wipe the blade once
or twice, but make sure all oil has been removed. Lay the
wiping cloth on your hand and repeat the process on the
bottom of the blade. If your katana has bo-hi (grooves)
make sure you wipe them by pinching the nuguigami between
your fingers.
5.Use the uchiko ball (cleaning powder) on the blade once
the choji oil has been removed. Choji oil will clog the
surface of the uchiko ball if it has not been removed. The
uchiko ball is tapped every few inches along the shinogi
(flat surface on the top side of the blade). Uchiko is a
very mild abrasive and should not be used on aluminum iaito
blades. Wipe the uchico off the blade with a fresh piece
of nuguigami using the same process as the previous step.
Note that this is the best time to view a katana. You will
need to repeat this step if you use this opportunity to
view or show your katana.
6.Oil the blade using the oiling cloth. This is the same
process as the previous steps. The blade only needs to be
wiped once. The entire surface of the blade needs to be
covered. Try not to get too much oil on or under the habaki
(blade collar).
7.Put the katana back in the saya reversing the process
used to remove it. The katana should not be slammed back
into the saya since this can damage the koiguchi (mouth)
of the saya. |
