Hi there, I've been struggling for a while to find a good oil to oil my bo and other weapons with. I've mostly been looking at the hardware stores and didn't find anything I was really comfortable using. But I picked up a bottle of baby oil the other day and looked at teh ingredients which is just mineral oil and a bit of fragrance so it seems like it might be good. And cheap too. Would there be any issues with using this to regularly oil wooden weapons?
You might think about linseed oil - can be found at any Michael's or art store with the oil paints for quite cheap. Comes in a metal tin can - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#Wood_finish Might not be quite what you're looking for though.
My sword teacher warned me away from using Mineral Oil but I don't remember his exact reasoning. IIRC it was something along the lines of not using anything that was not vegetable-based. I've used linseed oil and more often I have used Olive Oil. I have not tried Sunflower or Canola Oil. The thing I seem to remember about Mineral Oil was that it didn't seem to be absorbed by the wood or the bamboo of the items I put it on. I suppose that a person could do a kind of experiment with some cheap dowls from a home-improvement store. Put each type of oil on a hardwood dowl and see which produces the result you like. Not hugely scientific but it might serve a purpose. FWIW. Best Wishes, Bruce
Okay... I can see the future of martial artists now... Here's the scenario. You're with your significant other at a superstore. "Honey, i can't decide which baby oil to buy for our son." "Oh just buy anything! its all just mineral oil anyways. You might as well rub turpentine on him! Now let me know when you find the delux scratch proof linseed wood oil i need for my bo staffs." Just Sayin =P
Okay... I can see the future of martial artists now... Here's the scenario. You're with your significant other at a superstore. "Honey, i can't decide which baby oil to buy for our son." "Oh just buy anything! its all just mineral oil anyways. You might as well rub turpentine on him! Now let me know when you find the delux scratch proof linseed wood oil i need for my bo staffs." Just Sayin =P
according to other aikidoka at the gyms i've gone to, danish oil is your best bet for a wood training weapon--what i also used and seemed to do the trick. looks to be the right combination of finish and penetration that you're looking for. watco seems to be a respected brand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_oil
The thing is, though, Danish Oil, like Tung Oil and a few others are drying oils ---that is, they dry to a finish of one sort or another. I don't think it would be exactly like Shellac or varnish but it would still dry to a finish and I wonder if that is really what a person would want on their wooden item. I'm thinking that if a person is using a wooden item and anticipates that contact---maybe even hard contact--- will be made the idea would be to "season" the wood in some fashion so that it takes the abuse better (IE reduced splintering; "dimples" rather than "cratering"). I also think that it makes a big difference what sort of item the OTHER guy has. Cocobola against Red Oak, the Cocobola is going to win-out ever day. I remember a guy who brought a new Red Oak MOK GUEM to class and it didn't even make it through one class against the Maple items. I don't think it would have mattered WHAT kind of oil a person used. We had an instructor that had a sword made out of some synthetic material and that little sweetie could eat anything it wanted to!! FWIW. BTW: Here are some non-drying oils. Almond oil Babassu oil Coconut oil Cocoa butter Macadamia oil Olive oil Peanut oil Nahar Seed oil Best Wishes, Bruce
Wooden weapons should be polished by your powerful and calloused hands as they use the weapon for 10 hours a day. Or like...some oil or something.
Some advice I have followed over the years with weapons, that has served me well. http://www.bujindesign.com/training_tips/training_weapons.html lost a jo after 20 years recently.
that all makes sense bruce. i had a bokken for about a year and a half. i actually used it quite a bit in the dojo and at home. because the movements of aikido are so sword oriented, i actually did a lot of training at home. the danish oil finish does indeed put on a finish, but it also penetrates. i found that i didn't have any problems with contact or blistering. worked well for me, but everyone, and more experienced people, have their own thoughts.
I read the BUJIN Customer Service note above and smiled to read that BUJIN makes their items from Hickory. I have often thought about just how durable a training item might be if I could find one made from this wood. Best Wishes, Bruce
I know you don't study JSA but Mr Taylor's website may be of use, he makes more than just bokuto. http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/cat_bokuto.htm
Here you go Bruce... http://www.little-raven.com/RS/MA/Japanese.html#anchor399260 Oh and +1 for linseed oil.
It will work if you are not going to be using your weapon for contact. It has been my experience that non-drying oils (such as mineral oil) will tend to separate the wood grain over time, and make your weapon more prone to contact damage. This is why over-oiling a Japanese sword will end up ruining the saya over time. Drying oils (such as linseed or tung oil) will penetrate the grain, and then dry to help hold the grain together. This is what you want for a weapon used in contact drills.
Maybe thats why my teacher was against the use of certain oils. Mineral Oil is a refined petroleum distillate and I didn't get the impression that it was particularly nourishing to woods. I like the reasoning behind using drying oils that penetrate and "hold the grain together". Has anyone done anything with "lemon oil". Its popular in furniture polishes and I also note that there are polishes and soaps that use oil extracts from oranges. Thoughts? Best Wishes, Bruce
If you use linseed oil, be careful about your rags afterwards. These oils don't dry through evaporation but oxidation, fast oxidation is what you call "fire." While very unusual, rags left soaked with these sorts oils have been known to spontaneously combust. I have a metal bucket that I dry my wood oils, and I try to dry them flat so that heat cannot accumulate.
Another word of warning - raw linseed oil takes an age to dry to a nice feel and it can spoil the grain/looks of the weapon if used before reasonably dry and allowed to gunk up with sweat off hands etc. Boiled linseed oil is much better IMHO. Then again, I avoid completely and use teak oil.