Help to translate a sword Blade please

[BOB COLEMAN]

John-
Cleaning the nakago is a BIG no no in Japanese blade conservation. Unfortunately, you have permanently damaged the blade by doing this. Study and identification of a blade at times takes a great amount of time and patience.
The patina you have removed is a large part in being able to age the blade.

[John Brandon]

Bob
I fail to see how it's ruined, you should see the state of the blade! I only gave it a light clean with some wet and dry. If it's 500 years old, that won't kill it

[BOB COLEMAN]

From your pictures, it appears a lot of the patina on the tang is gone.

[John Brandon]

From your pictures, it appears a lot of the patina on the tang is gone.

That was rust Bob.

[rbminis]

That was rust Bob.

That may be true John but, it was "old" rust and that is important.
Ralph.

[Bruce Pennington]

John, Bob has spent many years studying Japanese blades and culture, and is a purist (not meaning that in a negative way) as a collector. The condition is a blade is part of the life of the blade. It shows the path it has traveled. Removing that removes part of its life and history. Plus in the world of blade collecting, the patina can help separate the authentic from the fake. So these things are important to some collectors. If you were to try to resell this blade, a purist probably wouldn't be interested anymore.

However, some of us, like me believe in taking care of my equipment, and putting them back to as original condition as possible is my goal with my collection. I I'll never sell my collection, so the impact on its value is not a concern for me. It's all up to you where you stand on your own pieces.

The experts we rely on, here and other forums, have priceless knowledge that we all value, so it's best to treat each other with respect and understand each other's perspectives.

[John Brandon]

Thanks for your comments Bruce.....duly noted. And taken on board, but I would just like to say one last thing......... the blade was givenue to me, and anything that is a gift I would never sell, and I wouldn't part with this blade for any amount, but I didn't want it sitting on my cupboard looking like a sad rusty piece of metal. I cleaned that part as before no one could read the date. So I still don't know what date it is. There is a difference between being a purist and wanting something to look nice......... I imported a 66 mustang several years ago from florid a. I did a total rebuild and have just put a 302 race engine manual gearbox box 19 inch wheels and a limited slip different. The purist would say I've ruined it....... many others say it's fantastic. Personally I rescued it from the scrap heap. And have given the old lady a new lease of life...... different strokes for different folks 😎

[BOB COLEMAN]

As a final note for clarification, the proper way wo clean bujild up rust on a nakago is to first soak it in a light weight oil for several days. The pond the built up rust with a brass hammer to loosen the rust. Then use a piece of deer antler to scrape the rust. Repeat the hammer process and then clean the nakago with alcohol. The process is repeated until the desired result is reached. This is a very time consuming process but does work without damaging the important rust patina or the yasuremei(file marks).

[Bruce Pennington]

Bob, very good to know for all of us! I will use it from now on, thank you!