Taking Care Of Khukuris "Japanese Style"

Drdan

Drdan

Joined
Dec 24, 2003
Messages
1,390
For those forumites not familiar with the care of Japanese swords, here's a nice outline: http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/handling.htm

The Choji oil is nothing more than mineral oil with a few drops of clove oil to distinguish it from cooking oil. I assume that some Samurai and other ancient Japanese sword owners mistakingly used their "sword oil" for cooking, with the surprising results! :eek:

Uchiko is an extremely fine powder used to remove old oil and its residues. I don't know what the grit is, but it is super fine stuff...

I was wondering if my khukuris could be oiled regularly Japanese style. The mineral oil treatment has been used for centuries, and many Katana blades from the 13th century look new!

Thanks!
 
thats how I have been taking care of mine.
the trick is to use really nice choji oil.
wd-40 is probably better.
the cheap clove oil is not very good for metal...
 
Mr.BadExample said:
The image of samurai running for the outhouse after cooking with mineral oil is quite amusing :)
Click to expand...

So is the image of him 'running' for the outhouse after cooking with WD40!

BTW have heard that WD40 if bad for swords. Something about additives. However some of my tenants use it for furniture polish and also spray on joints inflamed by arthritis. (Really)
 
It is kinda thin and doesnt stick to the blade like choji oil, but it is good for general purposes. Clove oil is sometimes made cheaply, with vegetable oils( clove) making up too much of the mix.
That will rust the sword on its own.
So, if you want to use japanese oil for your sword, dont buy the cheaper bottle!
 
Lots of Japanese sword enthusiasts purchase 100% mineral oil in pharmacies, and place 2 or 3 drops of clove oil in a 6 -8 oz. bottle. The clove oil has no special properties of its own; it's to scent the oil, and traditionally it's said to have been implemented so as to not confuse the sowrd owner of the oil's use... :D
 
OK, so when I buy a bottle of mineral oil, I probably shouldn't replace the label with one that says "olive oil"?
 
FallingKnife said:
OK, so when I buy a bottle of mineral oil, I probably shouldn't replace the label with one that says "olive oil"?
Click to expand...

Only do that if you intend to play a "practical joke" on someone... :D
 
Choji is definitely mineral oil with clove oil for scent... camelia is totally different stuff. I have had trouble finding mineral oil in New Zealand, so I just bought somed Johnson's Baby Oil (basically mineral oil) - instead of cloves, it smells like babies :)
 
Is that stuff pressed from real babies?

Makes sense...I've never heard one squeak...
 
Bill Marsh said:
So is the image of him 'running' for the outhouse after cooking with WD40!

BTW have heard that WD40 if bad for swords. Something about additives. However some of my tenants use it for furniture polish and also spray on joints inflamed by arthritis. (Really)
Click to expand...

Hahaha, that's a good one Bill Marsh!

I have been using WD40 on all my blades since I've been collecting for the past 3 years and have no problem whatsoever with any of them, be they HI Khuk, 'Chen Katana, Custom 1-of-a-kind Valiant Golok or newfangled CRKT Stainless-Steel Tac-folder...
 
Hi Daniel
You can get mineral oil from the chemist, its used by the elderly to enhance solid waste removal
Phil :)
 
You can find a couple of good discussion
& several more links
here:

clove choji camellia kurobara
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275731

www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227212

www.bladegallery.com/information/info_ivory_using.asp

------------non-traditional----------------

Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants;
often good for blades too:
home.sprynet.com/~frfrog/homemade.htm
Good MSDS links too.

Associated thread with more info:
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=275217
Which includes highlights from another site's
thread on various common & uncommon lubricants
& water displacers. (WD40)

Firepower FP-10 lubricant / rust preventative
http://www.fp10.com/indexmain.htm

----------------------------
All the above are found in the "tips...." thread

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links--A--T--H--D
 
Finn got me started with the camelia oil and I like it a lot. A little more expensive, but it will soak into the wood of your scabard and help to preserve and waterproof that as well. And you can cook with it if you want to. Hey, what more could you want?
 
Bill Marsh said:
BTW have heard that WD40 if bad for swords. Something about additives. However some of my tenants use it for furniture polish and also spray on joints inflamed by arthritis. (Really)
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the guy with the Windex in "Greek Wedding". :)
 
From one of the sword lists; clove oil is similiar to transmission fluid with scent added. Some of collectors I believe Japanesse included are using Sheath.
 
As always, Dean, you're the forum's "info guy", and I appreciate your particular talent! :cool: Please include this info in your sticky...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top