Materials for the Care of Japanese Swords

I wasn't sure where to put this, but I figured you guys might be interested. I own a high-carbon steel 'chinese' katana built for martial artists. I was curious about using the sword cleaning materials on the razor.

It's an interesting analysis of choji, the traditional paper, uchiko, etc.

http://www.aiccm.org.au/docs/Bulleti...l10No3and4.PDF

I'm using choji to oil my razor, but I was curious about the grit of uchiko and they have some pretty alarming things to say! (150 micron particles holy jeebus).

-Mike

If I'm not wrong 150 micron is about .006" & not likely to slip thru the uchiko ball.
China-tanas usually come with talcum filled uchiko balls. If the powder is white its not Uchigumori which is a light grey. It won't hurt the surface of your razor but why bother ?
A little oil on the razor once it is dried after shaving is all the maintenance it might need.

check this out mate:

YouTube - Japanese Sword-Polishing (English Subtitled)

I'm using choji oil on all my razors...it's good stuff and truth be told, choji oil isn't 100% clove oil, it's more like 95% mineral oil / 5% clove oil.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

If I'm not wrong 150 micron is about .006" & not likely to slip thru the uchiko ball.
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Somewhere in there, it says they got those out by tapping them out, just as you would when cleaning a sword.

Yeah I dunno choji is pretty expensive though, if you're using it every day. I ordered some camellia oil from straight razor designs, we'll see how that goes.

I was tempted to go with RemOil, but that stuff is $30 a bottle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrMike

Somewhere in there, it says they got those out by tapping them out, just as you would when cleaning a sword.

Yeah I dunno choji is pretty expensive though, if you're using it every day. I ordered some camellia oil from straight razor designs, we'll see how that goes.

I was tempted to go with RemOil, but that stuff is $30 a bottle.

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I guess anything's possible, just never happened to me so seems odd.
Probably best making your own. That way you know what goes in it.
Camellia is fine for daily use. Just not great for long term storage as it does oxidise.