Thread: Secrets Of the Samurai Sword

Gunner, the oil you have there is Camilla oil. I have some of this same stuff and I use it on all my woodworking hand tools.

That's pretty much what I thought. I bought some from Japan Woodworking with an applicator and it feels and looks the same.

Originally Posted by turbine712

Gunner, the oil you have there is Camilla oil. I have some of this same stuff and I use it on all my woodworking hand tools.

Not Choji?

I can't read the bottle obviously and the friend of my daughter that speaks and reads Japanese left before I thought of asking her about this one.
The feel and color is the same as Camilla if that makes a difference.

smell will tell.

btw pure choji (clove) is bad for steel.

Ok it's not---it's Camilla. There is no clove type smell just an oil smell and light at that.
I sent a copy of the picture to the translator also and it just came back as "Pure Camilla" whatever pure Camilla is---distilled several times I guess.

Originally Posted by Maximilian

The Code of the Samurai is as intriguing and beautiful as the samurai itself.

During the 9th & 12th centuries in Japan the warrior class were known as samurai aka Bushi (Bushido). They lived by a code. The code was verbally passed on to each generation of samurai. Over time, 7 chief virtues emerged, they became the written form of Bushido.

Sometimes called the the Seven Virtues of the Samurai, the Bushido Code or The Samurai Code of Chivalry,

Gi - Rectitude
Yu - Courage.
Jin - Benevolence
Rei - Respect
Makoto - Honesty
Meiyo - Honor
Chungi - Loyalty

Credit is generally given that a Chinese man aka Confucius, is the father of these values in China.

Therefore you'll find these variations of moral values in China, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere too.

Sadly, those virtues and the bushido code was really an invention of the 1600s to justify the continued existence of samurai. They were a dying breed after the unification under Tokugawa. After Tokugawa united Japan and outlawed firearms, the class system continued to exist, but the purpose of the samurai did not. So they romaticized themselves and started living by the code of bushido to justify their continued existence.

Before unification, samurai were more or less mercenaries. There are many accounts of samurai switching sides during the course of battle and running away when it was clear their side had lost. Of course, there was the traditional beheading of opponents to collect bounties on heads as well. Lots of savage stuff, not what the romatic literature wants us to believe.

Originally Posted by Gunner777

Ok it's not---it's Camilla. There is no clove type smell just an oil smell and light at that.
I sent a copy of the picture to the translator also and it just came back as "Pure Camilla" whatever pure Camilla is---distilled several times I guess.

It's "Camellia". Pure just means that it is not mixed with mineral oil, as most cutlery oil is.

Check here for the video: What is Tamahagane or Traditional Japanese Steel ?

Originally Posted by zib

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

Here ya go Zib. You could even try some of these guys... if you win lotto.
swordsmith&bladesmith
Licensed swordsmiths in Japan are considered living national treasures & they charge accordingly
I can't even afford an Iwasaki razor let alone a katana