Sword Steel

Sword Steel

What do you have to do to maintain proper care of a High Carbon steel sword?

I just bought a high carbon steel sword and I was wondering what I have to do to take care of it, I heard unlike normal Stainless Steel swords I don't have to do anything to take care of it, but I have been unable to verify it.

Common Sense to Treat and Protect Your Edged Weapons

Simply treating your edged weapons with great respect and carefully maintaining them with great patience will easily keep them looking brand new for many years to come.
Advice on treating your edged weapons (The Samurai respects his sword’s edge and protects it at all costs)
Keep in mind that your sword, battle ready or not, is still a weapon that may injure, kill someone and/or become damaged if used improperly. Although we all have a "warrior" inside of us, we are not always on a battlefield. No matter how tough or strong the steel is in any sword, it will nick when struck against something equally hard. Do not bang your sword against another sword in theatrical-style duel. The swords you see in movie to do the theatrical-style duel are all specially designed; they are wider, with thicker edges. And do not attempt to chop down a tree with your sword. When you strike a firmly fixed object like a tree or a thick branch with a sword, a great deal of the blade projects past the object being cut, causing the blade to bend or torque. You can choose a replacement in your practice such as thick bamboo which is resistant to a cut, but doesn’t have the rigidity of a tree. For a Japanese warrior to cut in to a tree would have been unthinkable.
Careful maintenance and cleaning with your sword
It is the natural propensity of steel to rust, you must properly care for your blades.

Immediately After Receiving Your New Sword

Most collectors have a misconception that they should wait only until the blade is rusted or pitted to clean and maintain it. In fact, it is very crucial to maintain and clean your sword the moment you get it. If you lose this important time for the cleaning and maintenance, it will be much more difficult in the following time.
Swords directly from factory will probably with a light oil or a heavy coat of grease to protect the blades during transcontinental transport. To remove the grease you may use a solvent such as lacquer thinner or mineral spirits. Then it is better to wipe it using a silicone coated reel cloth due to there is less tendency for dust to accumulate and trap oxygen to cause pitted areas in the blade.
Since it is the natural propensity of steel to rust, you must properly care for your blades.

Rust prevention

Regardless of method, cleaning has its risks. Improper cleaning or maintenance may damage your blades and/or their temper. It is better to take measures before the rust happens.

Effective measures to prevent rust. First, the best way to prevent rust is to keep the sword lightly oiled with lightweight oil due to the heavyweight oil is likely to stain the interior of the scabbard by causing dust to collect. Japanese Choji Clove Oil by far is the best choice. The Japanese have used it for centuries. The clove oil's primary purpose is to prevent rusting; Oil is made of 99% mineral oil and only 1% of clove oil for fragrance. Do remember to wipe off the old oil from the sword with a soft fabric before reapplying the oil to the blade. Then, sprinkle special oil-removing powder on the blade surface. After that, wiping off the powder by a clean cloth before applying the light oil to the blade. Second, blades must be protected from moisture at all times. Also be sure to keep in mind that the blade should never be touched with the hand. For your bare hands will leave oils and salts that will eat their way into your blade and eventually leave pits.

Removing rust

Though you have taken effective measures to preventing the blade from rusting, if it still happens, please don’t be sad or depressed. Most of the rust can be removed successfully like they never appear. For this, you have to take effective measures.
Mainly, there are two kinds of method to remove the rust: one is chemical method and another is abrasive cleaning. Chemical cleaning includes using a Sword Cleaning Kit, solvents, and acids and so on. Be sure never using strong acid which will leave microscopic etching to give a dull, leaden look to the blade. For abrasive cleaning, oil and steel wool is the most often prescribed way to remove light surface rust. Rubbing the steel with a soft wire brush may be useful for a sword that is already heavily pitted or scaled with rust. Polishing stones will give a mirror finish to the blade. But remember, this may actually detract from the value of the sword.
Improper cleaning is probably to destroy your valuable sword, the best way when rust happens is to see a polishing specialist at once just like a sick person would need to go to see a medical specialist. And, even if you could fix it, please be sure to test on a small part to avoid any bad result!

How to Treat Wood or Leather

Wooden handles or scabbards may be treated with a light coating of lemon oil or tung oil to help prevent cracking.
• Leather scabbards and sheaths as well as leather covered handles should be treated with a g

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Cold Steel Bokken (Sword Training Weapons)