Stupid question about sword care

In so many samurai movies I see swordsmen caring for their swords by
applying *something* with a *puff-ball* type thing. Uh... what
exactly are they doing and what is the proper terminology? (Yeah, I
can just see myself writing a quiet scene of Sano watching Saitou
care for his katana... "Saitou raised the puff-ball thing and
gracefully tapped it, applying something from hilt to tip...")

phil (in samurai heaven watching "Kill!")

Phil,
Are you referring to the movie "Kill!" a parody of other famous
samurai films? The one in which Tatsuya Nakadai stars and makes fun
of a bamboo sword (which is critical in the film
Seppuku/Harakiri)...totally hilarious and I think it was directed by
Kihachi Okamoto too...geez Sword of Doom! and then Kill! big contrast.

That ball is actually filled with a powder called uchiko.

Uchiko removes all the old oil and debris from a blade. It's made by taking a polishing stones and grinding them up. This process shouldn't be done too often on blades since it'll dull the polish and mar the details in the metal. Course in the old days this didn't matter as the upkeep as a weapon mattered more than perservation as a piece of art.

Check this link for images.
http://johndswordpolishing.com/swordaccessories/


Jon

----- Original Message -----
From: spiritus_saitou
To: SHQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 5:56 PM
Subject: [SHQ] Stupid question about sword care


In so many samurai movies I see swordsmen caring for their swords by
applying *something* with a *puff-ball* type thing. Uh... what
exactly are they doing and what is the proper terminology? (Yeah, I
can just see myself writing a quiet scene of Sano watching Saitou
care for his katana... "Saitou raised the puff-ball thing and
gracefully tapped it, applying something from hilt to tip...")

phil (in samurai heaven watching "Kill!")



visit

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ_Spy_Division/

our companion list featuring fanfiction/art



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ/

b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SHQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Uh... well... I'm not sure, but I think that's what I'm watching.
I'm more than a bit confused at the moment --- there is *so* much
going on in this film and so many crazy connections among
characters. Definitely hilarious in spots. Anyone who likes samurai
films and spaghetti westerns has gotta love this one! :-D It
repeats later tonight if anyone wants to try to catch it (on IFC).
According to Quentin Tarantino (who's hosting this mini-fest) it's
difficult to find and rarely shown. (BTW, the time period for this
story is 1833, if anyone is interested.)

phil

--- In SHQ@yahoogroups.com, "Tiffany" wrote:
> Phil,
> Are you referring to the movie "Kill!" a parody of other famous
> samurai films? The one in which Tatsuya Nakadai stars and makes fun
> of a bamboo sword (which is critical in the film
> Seppuku/Harakiri)...totally hilarious and I think it was directed by
> Kihachi Okamoto too...geez Sword of Doom! and then Kill! big
contrast.

This has probably been addressed before, but is there a site that
discusses in some detail how swords were cared for (more interested
in the past than the present, for writing reasons, though I realize
some things continue in time-honored fashion), or am I going to have
to go searching for a book?

Thanks for the information about the uchiko ball! So, what you're
saying is that it was done on a regular basis in the past, right? In
other words, this would be something of a regular chore for Saitou
even doing what he was doing in RK?

phil (getting too curious... again)

--- In SHQ@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Mesina" wrote:
> That ball is actually filled with a powder called uchiko.
>
> Uchiko removes all the old oil and debris from a blade. It's made
by taking a polishing stones and grinding them up. This process
shouldn't be done too often on blades since it'll dull the polish and
mar the details in the metal. Course in the old days this didn't
matter as the upkeep as a weapon mattered more than perservation as a
piece of art.
>
> Check this link for images.
> http://johndswordpolishing.com/swordaccessories/
>
>
> Jon
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: spiritus_saitou
> To: SHQ@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 5:56 PM
> Subject: [SHQ] Stupid question about sword care
>
>
> In so many samurai movies I see swordsmen caring for their swords
by
> applying *something* with a *puff-ball* type thing. Uh... what
> exactly are they doing and what is the proper terminology?
(Yeah, I
> can just see myself writing a quiet scene of Sano watching Saitou
> care for his katana... "Saitou raised the puff-ball thing and
> gracefully tapped it, applying something from hilt to tip...")
>
> phil (in samurai heaven watching "Kill!")
>
>
>
> visit
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ_Spy_Division/
>
> our companion list featuring fanfiction/art
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ/
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> SHQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sites:
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/care.htm
http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/handling.htm

If these sites don't have exactly what you're looking for, just google "Japanese sword care"

As for use in the past, I just mainly meant that marring polish of the blade wouldn't matter as long as the sword stayed free of rust and other gunk. What I mentioned is just what most people go by when caring for blades in the present. There are others that feel otherwise though.

If were to put myself in the past. I would only uchiko whenever the blade drew blood. If the blade hasn't seen combat in a while, maybe every month.

Hope this helps ^_^

Jon

----- Original Message -----
From: spiritus_saitou
To: SHQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 7:07 PM
Subject: [SHQ] Re: Stupid question about sword care


This has probably been addressed before, but is there a site that
discusses in some detail how swords were cared for (more interested
in the past than the present, for writing reasons, though I realize
some things continue in time-honored fashion), or am I going to have
to go searching for a book?

Thanks for the information about the uchiko ball! So, what you're
saying is that it was done on a regular basis in the past, right? In
other words, this would be something of a regular chore for Saitou
even doing what he was doing in RK?

phil (getting too curious... again)

--- In SHQ@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Mesina" wrote:
> That ball is actually filled with a powder called uchiko.
>
> Uchiko removes all the old oil and debris from a blade. It's made
by taking a polishing stones and grinding them up. This process
shouldn't be done too often on blades since it'll dull the polish and
mar the details in the metal. Course in the old days this didn't
matter as the upkeep as a weapon mattered more than perservation as a
piece of art.
>
> Check this link for images.
> http://johndswordpolishing.com/swordaccessories/
>
>
> Jon
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: spiritus_saitou
> To: SHQ@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 5:56 PM
> Subject: [SHQ] Stupid question about sword care
>
>
> In so many samurai movies I see swordsmen caring for their swords
by
> applying *something* with a *puff-ball* type thing. Uh... what
> exactly are they doing and what is the proper terminology?
(Yeah, I
> can just see myself writing a quiet scene of Sano watching Saitou
> care for his katana... "Saitou raised the puff-ball thing and
> gracefully tapped it, applying something from hilt to tip...")
>
> phil (in samurai heaven watching "Kill!")
>
>
>
> visit
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ_Spy_Division/
>
> our companion list featuring fanfiction/art
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ/
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> SHQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



visit

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ_Spy_Division/

our companion list featuring fanfiction/art



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHQ/

b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SHQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]