Ace Martial Arts Supply Japanese Samurai Katana Sword Maintenance Cleaning Kit

Im glad I bought this, because it is essential to anyone who owns a sword (that isnt made from stainless steel or aluminium of course). Keep in mind that while this is a Japanese style cleaning kit, you dont have to use it only on Japanese style blades. It will still work very nicely on other swords, knives, etc. Metal is metal. If your blade is already rusting, this kit will not help you. It only prevents the rust from forming in the first place.Included in this kit is everything the description says it does. Not only that, but it also has 2 spare bamboo mekugi pins and a mekuginuki (tiny hammer) for removing and putting in the mekugi pins for a Japanese sword. The top of the hammer can be unscrewed to act as a stake to help remove the pins. The powder should last a good while, but the oil comes in a very small bottle which wont last long, especially if you clean your swords frequently. It also has only 2 rice paper cloths, but they can be cut in half to make 4. This isnt a huge deal as you can use any soft disposable cloth (like tissues or toilet paper) to wipe the blade and apply the oil.The box is made out of a soft wood, but still in good condition. It did not arrive damaged in any way, nor was the kanji writing on the lid damaged or faded. Since I bought this for what was inside, the outside aesthetics dont really concern me all that much anyway.Overall, im satisfied with this purchase and I do recommend it. I am giving it a full 5 stars because it is for what it should be. My only complaint is the tiny oil bottle, but seeing as how you shouldnt be drenching your blade in oil, it's size is acceptable for someone who doesnt clean their blade frequently. The box could fit a bottle twice it's size, but whatever. After I used it all, I bought some mineral oil and its working just as well. My point is, dont buy this kit exclusively for the cleaning oil because there isnt much of it. For nearly $5 (when I bought it), id say this cleaning kit is defenatly worth the price.

This kit was much smaller than I expected, but that is not a bad thing. Everything described in the listing is in here. The mekugi-nuki (small hammer), two bamboo mekugi pins, an uchiko ball, sword oil, and a cleaning cloth. Each item is small and definitely not top-of-the-line, but I got it for under $10 so I am not complaining!I am glad that this kit contained two mekugi pins. I really needed them for my katana and mekugi can be so hard to find! I have already used the kit to clean my sword and so far there have been no problems. The uchiko ball disperses powder just fine and the cleaning cloth picks up the oil and powder effectively. I also used the mekugi-nuki to replace my mekugi with the two included in the kit.My only complaint is that the wooded box is made of VERY cheap wood. The lid came apart five minutes after I opened it. Nothing a little super-glue couldn't fix! I didn't buy this item for the box, so it doesn't affect my rating at all. Just be aware that if you are buying this for the case it comes in, you will be disappointed.If you are looking for a cheap, yet effective cleaning kit, then this is the item for you!

This isn't a bad sword maintenance kit... but, it could use some improvement. First of all, try looking up "sword maintenance cleaning kit" to get some variety of different kits that are available for sale on Amazon and you'll see that they range from $10 - $30 dollars a kit. Some of them have instructions on how to use the kit while others have less plastic and more glassware.Everything that you need is in this kit from the Mekugi-nuki (brass hammer), rice paper, choji oil, two spare Mekugi pegs to the Uchiko (cloth powder tapper). The first thing I noticed was that the Mekugi-nuki had the head disassembled from the handle. The problem is the wooden box itself. No matter what Tetris moves I made, I could not fit everything in the box with the Mekugi-nuki assembled. The box in the pictures is longer than what you get in person. Also as other people have mentioned, the choji oil is in a plastic bottle (mine was sealed with a plastic tamper seal) and once opened, I fear it will leak in the box. The Uchiko I received was a bit disappointing. In theory, it should last the entire lifetime of your sword. It is filled with a pumice powder of fine stone and supposedly fine metal too. Just touching the cloth with my finger releases a lot of powder. I DEFINITELY need to either use it outside or with newspaper underneath as the powder gets EVERYwhere. Plus, the handle is usually covered in cloth as well but it's just a bare wooden reed. If you're wondering what the little plastic cup with a lid is for, it's for storing your rice paper to keep it dry and clean before you use it.If anything I said so far concerns you, try looking at a different kit here. For the most part, I can continue to use the wooden box it came with but without the choji oil or rice paper inside. I don't think it's a bad kit and certainly isn't bad for a beginner looking to maintain their oriental sword collection. Honestly, pretty much any sword you buy from Amazon should be able to use this kit. If you happen to have an actual Japanese sword (we're talking thousands of dollars, not hundreds), this kit should still be fine to use but then I personally would want to invest in a proper kit that belongs to that sword.