What kind of oil do you use?

S

ShamrockWill

Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
81
Just wondering what peoples preferences are? I've read many use mineral oil but the stuff I got at the pharmacy(only mineral oil I could find) beads up too much and thosebeads cause stains that are quite annoying. I'm using my 20" Sirupati in place of a machete at work(I do Landscaping) so I have to clean and oil it almost daily and I just can't seem to get that mineral oil on my blade in a "very fine layer" without beading. when I try to wipe the beads away they just cause streaks. Any advice on a thinner oil that doesn't bead as much will be greatly appreciated. Also I'm new to oiling blades so application advice will be happily accepted as well. Thanks!
 
The pharmeceudical mineral oil i use is pretty thick, so i havent had an issue with beading.
Most any light oil will work. i have also used WD-40 with good results.
The biggest thing is to use a light oil that is stable and wont go rancid.
 
If you're not using it for food prep, any synthetic motor oil (like Mobil 1) features extremely small fat polymers that can enter even the smallest of pores in the surface of metals. WD40 is generally not as recommended because it's made more to lift solid particles away from surfaces rather than pure lubrication, but it definitely works to that end. If you're looking for pure lubrication, though, you'll be better off going with a product that doesn't lubricate as a result of leaving oil residue behind its cleaning action. Once you get a good oil penetrated in the blade, I hear products like Renaissance Wax are great to add a long lasting barrier for stress free storage.
 
For oil I just use Pam cooking spray. Spray it on wipe it down.I feel it covers well and is OK for food prep. If anybody has had a bad experience with this let me know.
 
If you're using it often for landscaping work you might consider just cleaning it at the end of the day with water and a scotch-brite type pad. It will get a patina but that won't affect its utility.
 
FTR-14c said:
For oil I just use Pam cooking spray. Spray it on wipe it down.I feel it covers well and is OK for food prep. If anybody has had a bad experience with this let me know.
Click to expand...
Some natural oils such as veg and olive oils are ok for short term use, but for long term storage they are not recommended due to their potential to turn rancid.
 
For long term I use nevr-dull.It leaves a nice dry haze and does not darken micarta.
 
i mainly use coconut oil or almond oil.

im trying to coat/treat a khukri from another co., im using sweetshooter as the rust preventative. we'll see how it hoes.
 
For daily use, I would clean,dry and apply/wipe down with a good quality silicone spray.
 
Mineral oil, and once clean I try to avoid touching with my fingers, as the salts on my skin can cause rust.
 
If it's a daily user I wouldn't worry about the beads or streaks of oil. Keep a rag somewhere (corner of workbench or garage table) with oil on it (I use baby oil) and when you get home from work put another small squirt of oil on the rag, un-sheath the blade, pull it lengthwise along the rag a couple times (leaving the rag on the table) on each side and re-sheath. If there's some new guy you're trying to impress use a dry/clean rag to wipe the oil off before you hand it to him to get rid of the streaks.

I find that if you cut certain types of wood the blade will get "stained"...that's pretty hard to clean off and I also wouldn't worry about that on a user.
 
If it's daily use as a machete and is not going to be used for food prep, then injestable oils are a bit expensive for rust prevention.

For a working tool, I'd Scotch Brite the blade so there's no residue, degrease it as thoroughly as possibly, and either leave the blade (not the scales) submerged in vinegar overnight, or give it a goods cold blue treatment. After it has this "forced patina", then just abotu any oil will work. Break Free gun oil is probably a good choice as it is stable, won't evaporate like WD-40, and has teflon particulate in the solution.

Just don't use it to cook with after using such oil without completely cleansing and degreasing it first.
 
I tend to wipe em down with a scotch brite pad and then hit em with a Marine Tuff Cloth. After the Marine Tuff cloth magic soaks in I'll do an oil coat. I actually have a bottle of older CAS Hanwei sword oil that I'll generally apply a "heavy" coat of if I plan on storing it. then I'll put it away and let the oil soak for a few days before I "seal" it in Ren Wax. If the blade is a user I tend to just use mineral oil at home or WD40 in the field.
 
Ballistol if you can find it. i use mineral oil, but can only find the scented baby oil variety over here, so all my knives smell like baby. i add a smattering of vaseline to the oil to improve the stickiness. you can of course use vaseline on it's own, but i find that too sticky. it takes a while for the vaseline to dissolve into the oil, with a lot of stirring &/or shaking the bottle, gentle heating also helps it dissolve.

renessance wax & similar products are fine for display, but it's a booger to get off if you want to blue/patina or otherwise treat the blade.
 
Usually use mineral oil on the blade; a few drops on each side with a light wipe down with a kleenex cloth, viola!

light coat of mineral oil on the leather scabbard topped up with a coat of leatherwax.

I use jajoba oil or tung on the hilt, also topped with wax.... :thumbup:
 
I've been using the Choji Oil I purchased when I got my T10 katana. They are both carbon steel, so I'm assuming it wil work for Khukuris also. Dosen't cloud the blade, dosen't go rancid, works really good so far. Of course I don't use mine every day, so that is why I use Choji oil. Just another option that I didn't see mentioned yet.
 
I also use Choji, which is the recommended choice for katana blades. It's a bit pricey compared to plain old mineral oil, which also works well, but I happen to have some from oiling my swords. I like the smell of Choji too and if you don't mind paying a little extra, check out eBay and order some Choji.
 
Camelia oil is the type recommended for philipine sandata as well as chinese blades, very similar to Choji oilbut without the cloves smell. In fact i think many brands of choji are camellia oil with oil of cloves added.
 
found this on a quick search of the internet. kinda pricey £10.95 for 100 ml. ($17.50 for 3.38 fluid oz.) cheaper also found, but most were 'blended with other light oils'

View attachment 230954
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top