It’s important to #changeoil… to prevent rusts on your real sword 😉
Maintenance is part of owning a real sword, as they will rust if not well taken care of. When maintained well, your sword will last a long time. Oil dries up in time, so it’s important to change it and apply a new one to protect the blade.
We have a maintenance kit available on our website for PHP 850.
https://geishasblade.com/shop/accessories/maintenance-kit/maintenance-kit/
It includes the following:
• Brass awl and hammer (for removing mekugi/bamboo peg on the tsuka)
• Bottle of oil
• Powder ball (for removing remaining old oil on the blade)
• Cotton cloth (for applying new oil on the blade)
• Tissue (for removing old oil)
• Wooden storage box
We have a note in the product description that this kit is just for maintenance, for swords that’s just on display. This won’t really clean your sword after you’ve used it for cutting. We have one ourselves and we seldom use it. It’s just part of our sword display. We can provide you alternatives for cleaning your sword (after you’ve used it for cutting) that can be easily purchased at any supermarket.
Now, where can you find a seller advising you that you don’t need to buy one anymore and just use alternatives? 😉
Though, it’s still nice to have this kit as you get to maintain your sword in the traditional manner.
Here are the alternatives:
• 70% isopropyl alcohol (if you can find a higher percentage, the better)
• Plain white soft tissue paper
• Singer or 4-in-1 oil
• Pledge Metal Polish
To clean your sword, use plain white soft tissue paper to wipe off the old oil. After wiping off the old oil, use a new tissue moistened in alcohol to remove any remaining oil on the blade. Then use a new tissue to dry the blade. After which, get a new tissue and put a small amount of oil and wipe it on the blade. Just a thin film of oil will do. Do not apply too much oil. Otherwise, it will drip inside the saya and will ruin the paint in time.
You need to maintain the blade at least once or twice a month. Oil dries up in time, and when it does, the blade may develop rusts. Be careful not to get the blade wet and avoid touching it with your bare hands or fingers, as the oil and sweat from our skin will cause rust to form on the blade. If you or someone accidentally touched the blade, wipe the whole blade with white soft tissue paper. Then clean it again with with tissue moistened with alcohol. Dry it with new tissue and then apply new oil.
The only time we use metal polish is when we cut bamboo, water soaked rolled straw mats, and banana trunks as those targets will stain the blade. It’s very effective in removing stains. Though be very careful in using it, metal polish is very abrasive and it will dull the edge. So do your best not to get any on the edge. Metal polish will also make the blade shinier.
After using metal polish, make sure there’s no residue left on the blade. How to know if there’s still some metal polish residue? When you apply oil, you’ll see oil beads. It means it’s not adhering well on the blade because of the metal polish. To remove the metal polish residue, just wipe the blade with dry tissue to completely remove it and also tissue moistened with alcohol. After which, apply new oil.