Sword Forum Bugei

after you take the sword apart for a cleaning is it okay to touch the tang of the blade without cleaning it, or does that need cleaning too?

Typically, you do not clean the nakago, even if you handle it. With traditional Nihonto, one of the things used to tell the age of a sword is the patina of rust on the nakago.

With more modern swords that see a lot of practice and/or use, it wouldn't hurt. Just be careful if you oil it. This can decrease the friction fit of the nakago in the tsuka. It can also contaminate the tsuka core if you aren't careful.

thank you for your reply that helps me out.