Best MINERAL OIL for dunking ivory??

Jon Brand

Jon Brand

Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
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I am having a tough winter with some light shrinkage all around. I need recomendations for the BEST mineral oil to leave a whole handle in for a day or two. Please provide me with links so I can find the retailers directly and get the right product. I have some of the blade gallery camellia but not enough for dunking and that might not be the right stuff..? So i need to order a large amount of something.

Thank you! My knives will thank you too!

EDIT- should add that it needs to be ok for the steel too!

Also, is there any reason NOT to dunk a handle in oil for a long period of time? I have a bunch of frame handles here. Mammoth, walrus, elephant and mastodon.
 
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I heard from some Japanese knife makers that Johnson and Johnson baby oil is good for ivory care.
Because it is made from not botanical oil but mineral oil, and is less to be deteriorated.
It is also the better when it attach to steels.
I have been using it for maintenence, and have no problem with ivory handles.
http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/johnsons-baby-oil
You would be able to buy it at drug stores near your house.
And it will be good for also your hands...

I learnt to attach and to wipe mineral oil as maintenance.
However, when dunking ivory in it, it may cause some "stain".
 
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Jonathan, with all due respect to KYJ, don't use baby oil, as it has other chemicals and perfumes in it. Go with pure pharmaceutical grade mineral oil, if anything. I'm just not sure how long you can leave ivory or even bone in it without it becoming soft or damaged.
 
I use baby oil as does the my Russian supplier of mammoth ivory. Been using it for many years. Doesn't have to be from Johnson and Johnson. When he flies with small carvings he transports them in a bottle of oil during the flight. Whatever other additives are in there dont seem to hurt anything and if it makes the grips smell better, that's not a bad thing!
 
You mention pharmacy grade oil.. but i need specific links so I grab the right stuff! Thanks guys, keep the comments rollin.
 
black mamba said:
Go with pure pharmaceutical grade mineral oil, if anything.
Click to expand...

I agree. I don't know that the brand matters much. I just walked into my pharmacy, asked for pure mineral oil, walked out just a couple bucks lighter in the pocket. I suspect you could use Camelia oil, though I doubt it would work any beter and it would be a lot more expensive in dunking volume.

I have done the twice-yearly 24hr dunk for years now, with good results and no negative effects (ivory and stag). I know some people have reported a slight darkening of ivory, so that might be something for you to consider given some of your super-white pieces.

Roger
 
Jon,

Second on Roger's advice. Check your local pharmacies. Ask for pure mineral oil, or purchase "unscented" baby oil. It's the big thing now.

The more important thing is to soak those handles now, before " light shrinkage" gets worse. Put them in a tray, cover with oil, soak for 24 hours, then wipe clean.

Elephant shouldn't give much, if any ,trouble with darkening. Some Mammoth darkens, and some not, in my experience.

Soaking will be fine for the steel, too. Just be aware, those rascals will be slippery when you go to take them out!

John
 
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I'm made the mistake of leaving stag and ivory in mineral oil baths for weeks...just forgot about the knives. Both survived just fine and the ivory did come out a little darker, but I liked it because it brought out the grain more.
 
Jon, just get plain mineral oil from your local drug store. Winter time, with low humidity and
dry central heat in the home is rough on ivory.

As for mineral oil damaging ivory, I've soaked ivory for well over a year with no ill effects.
 
Any USP grade mineral oil will do. (USP certifies that it meets certain purity standards)

In most cases baby oil just has fragrance added to the oil and I do not see what benefit that would have
 
If it can run in, it can run out.

DO NOT use baby oil, it changes the appearance of the ivory.

Best bet...WAX............the reason its shrinking is moisture evaporation, wax it all over and it will stop.
 
Jon,

Go to Amazon and type in "mineral oil gallon" and you will see a couple of choices for $12-$13.00 you can order and get it in a couple of days. I use it sly the time and it works fine.

Jon
 
Instead of a tray I use an olive jar (or similar shape) taped to the workbench to prevent spillage.
Since the knife is point up, I cover the point with a piece of bright yellow foam.

I waxed the ivory and stag handles during the summer, when the house was most humid and had the worst shrinkage ever this year.
Seasonal movement I expect, but this was excessive.
I don't know if the wax was the culprit or the house was dryer than years past.
YMMV, yadda yadda and all that :D
 
members I own 1200 gal. of mineral oil. I had it at blade show 3 years ago. I sold 1 pt. If you want me to bring it to blade this year i will. But it has to be worth my time. Prices. pt. $1.00 Gal. 5.00 21/2 Gal. 12.50 15 Gal. 75.00 So all will know the base of baby oil is Mineral oil.
 
I've been using camillia oil with good results. Guess I'll really find out once I get back after they've been in storage for over a year.
 
Hi Jon, I use pharma grade, pure mineral oil on handles and camelia oil on steel. I get the mineral oil from the local CVS or Target. I order the camelia from Highland Woodworking.

Handles get mineral oil twice a year. Steel gets the Roger P. finger method of applying camelia a lot (believe it was Roger who posted that a little goes a long way and be careful not to cut your finger!)

I also keep a humidifier going in the room where my knives are kept during the winter. Purchased a digital doodad from Cabela's to monitor the humidity. Hope this helps.
 
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