Preventing and Treating Oxidation

[The BB of C]

When I'm in New York I've got some friends that I practice Kenjutsu and Fencing with. Nothing formal and most of what we do is discuss theory, teach each other techniques and then beat each other up with bokkens for a while. I'd never do that with a real blade unless it was a choreographed fight scene with a blunted stage combat blade. But right now I'm more concerned with keeping the sword I'd use for tameshigiri sharp and shiny.

[Spodo Komodo]

Almond oil is traditional for sealing swords, although you need to use the sort fit for human consumption rather than the stuff sold for massaging which can turn the blade purple.

[Kogusoku]

What I picked up from my koryū bujutsu teachers in Japan was to use rubbing alcohol to cleanse the blade after doing tameshigiri, wipe clean and dry and then apply sword oil (Tōyu) afterwards to ensure that the steel didn't rust.

Wipe the weapon clean and oil it after every training session and keep the weapon in its saya when not in use.