Oil for your khukuri (my own recommendation to others)

Neutral KIWI shoe polish because it is mostly wax and also works well preserving the leather sheaths . He said the problem with oil is it attracts dust where the wax protects and does not!
 
That seems like a right fine idea and theory. I use Mcguires car paste wax on the ones that spend most of their time on the wall. Imagine any wax would work equally well but the kiwi would probably be more better for the leather I would think.
 
It may sound strange, but I've been using lemon oil (typically used for furniture / wood oiling) for years on high carbon steel. In addition to khuks, I have a collection of antique Chinese weapons (Ming Dynasty swords, for example), high carbon blades for knives, martial arts weapons, etc. My khuks are mostly 7-10 years old and I use the oil on everthing from the leather to the horn to wood to the blades - everything has stayed clean, supple and rust free. Cheap, readily available, and it works perfectly.
 
I often wondered about Kiwi myself. Good one.

As for the lemon oil, sounds excellent, I'm a big fan of that "one thing that keeps everything running well", when possible. One reason I stay away from horn handles is because gun oil will preserve very nicely both blade and wood but for horn I'd need to get hooflex or something and I bet I'll only find the huge container that would last me two lifetimes around here. You can go on and call me lazy - I call myself "practical" :D. (Ok, if it's already something I have in the house - e.g. furniture spray - I might give the wood handle a swipe with it.)

Another reason is that some of the products that are cheap in the US might be more expensive here (or, as I was saying, available only in large quantities) and sometimes a little bit less straight-forward to track the exact equivalent product. It took me a while to find out that I cant get "mineral oil", and that I should ask for "paraffin oil", even in the drugstore. Or you get some miscellaneous scent on top of mineral oil and left wondering whether it will interact with metal in a bad way or not. Duh.

Stupid question, maybe: isn't this oil slightly acidic, will knives get more of a patina than they normally get through aging? I don't mind scratches on knives, but for some reason I like to put a patina on one only if it's on purpose.
 
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RipNTear said:
It may sound strange, but I've been using lemon oil (typically used for furniture / wood oiling) for years on high carbon steel. In addition to khuks, I have a collection of antique Chinese weapons (Ming Dynasty swords, for example), high carbon blades for knives, martial arts weapons, etc. My khuks are mostly 7-10 years old and I use the oil on everthing from the leather to the horn to wood to the blades - everything has stayed clean, supple and rust free. Cheap, readily available, and it works perfectly.
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I never heard of lemon oil (thank you for mentioning this-i will search for this)!

Also,i am wondering about handles made of horn-speaking of buffalo horn (HI is using),,,if anybody here knows -WHAT OIL NOT TO BE USED CLOSE TO HORN,,,due to HARMFUL EFFECT,,,? Is there any substance to be avoided, due to its negative or harmful effect on these sort of handles? Thanks for any toughts
 
Moonw said:
I often wondered about Kiwi myself. Good one.

As for the lemon oil, sounds excellent, I'm a big fan of that "one thing that keeps everything running well", when possible. One reason I stay away from horn handles is because gun oil will preserve very nicely both blade and wood but for horn I'd need to get hooflex or something and I bet I'll only find the huge container that would last me two lifetimes around here. You can go on and call me lazy - I call myself "practical" :D. (Ok, if it's already something I have in the house - e.g. furniture spray - I might give the wood handle a swipe with it.)

Another reason is that some of the products that are cheap in the US might be more expensive here (or, as I was saying, available only in large quantities) and sometimes a little bit less straight-forward to track the exact equivalent product. It took me a while to find out that I cant get "mineral oil", and that I should ask for "paraffin oil", even in the drugstore. Or you get some miscellaneous scent on top of mineral oil and left wondering whether it will interact with metal in a bad way or not. Duh.

Stupid question, maybe: isn't this oil slightly acidic, will knives get more of a patina than they normally get through aging? I don't mind scratches on knives, but for some reason I like to put a patina on one only if it's on purpose.
Click to expand...

That's what I would have thought as well, but I tested the pH. The oil is not acidic at all, and after a decade, mirror finishes are still mirror finishes. I can't complain about the results - no "satin-ing" of the finish at all. It's been a good experiment.
 
RipNTear said:
That's what I would have thought as well, but I tested the pH. The oil is not acidic at all, and after a decade, mirror finishes are still mirror finishes. I can't complain about the results - no "satin-ing" of the finish at all. It's been a good experiment.
Click to expand...

Thank you Sir, I appreciate it. I am "babying" somewhat only a mirror-finished one.
 
I've been using Ballistol for my knives. Supposed to be safe for leather and wood too.
 
Me too, I've only started using Ballistol the last couple years but I use it for all kinds of stuff.

Since it's primary ingredient is mineral oil it can't be bad for much of anything.
 
bawanna, i do NOT want to see pics of your skid marks.

i ballistol all my steel stuff.
 
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