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!

Full disclosure: I bought this item purely for its wooden container and mekugi-nuki, which worked well for me.However, if you are buying this as an 'all-in-one' here is my experience;- mekugi-nuki: Functional, probably the cheapest you will get one for. (Good)- uchiko ball: Works, but Uchiko balls in general scratch the blade so I dumpstered it immediately in favor of 91% rubbing alcohol (Good?)- sword oil: Probably the worst part of the kit. smelled like my trombone slide oil. Arrived half empty. Don’t expect choji oil. Get this component elsewhere (Bad)- cleaning cloth: Pretty. Soft. Not much to say (Good)- wooden container: Very nice craftsmanship, compact + light, good for holding everything in one place. (Good)If you are buying this specifically for oil, don’t. Get that elsewhere.If you are buying for everything else, it's a good value and worth considering.No issues with packaging or leakage.Get oil from elsewhere and combo it with this kit and you will be more than fine.I go to bushidojapaneseswords for choji oil, but you can use light mineral oil, ballistol, gun oil, whatever you have lying around.

Works as it should. Good price. Fast delivery.

Now first off, I am not a master swordsmen and I do not do this for a living so take that into perspective.With that said I am a Martial Artist studying for 15 years. I study in Japanese arts which means I have have done quite a it of training with Katanas. I have five myself which I use for practice and display.I needed something that would help my blades because I had noticed some rust starting on the blades. I bought this kit and it arrived on a Monday (surprising since i ordered it on Saturday).The kit had two large cloths, the metal hammer, the powder bag and the oil container.The big things for me were the powder bag and the oil. The oil came surrounded in styrofoam however the cap was not tighton the top. No oil leaked out but it was loose enough to be able to smell the oil. From now on I make sure the cap issealed tight!While using the Kit i found that the powder in the powder bag does not come out easy so you are just going to have to play with what works best for you.Overall this is a nice kit for the price... it is not super good but it will protect your blades if you are serious about them.