Agarwood oil for keris?

[silkreeler]

Has anyone tried using Agarwood / Gaharu to mix with mineral oil to replace Sandalwood? Is Agarwood oil safe for antique kerises? Though hardly cheap, Agarwood oil is more available plus I like the scent. It is getting frustrating lately to get real Sandalwood. I was told that almost everyone in the keris community has unknowingly been using synthetic, German-made Sandalwood oil, but they thought they've been using natural Kupang Sandalwood oil.

[A. G. Maisey]

I've been using the German synthetic since the 1970's, I never ever thought it was the real thing, it was too cheap for one thing, and secondly it comes in a bottle with the German name all over it. I do not understand how anybody could believe that they're using natural oil. Not unless they're buying it from third parties rather than from the shops that sell oil.

But in any case, it makes no difference whether you use synthetic or natural, its the smell you want, and the actual protection is done by the other oil, which can be parafin, or Singer sewing machine oil, or in Indonesia, coconut oil.

I've never heard of anybody using gaharu for keris, we do use melati, and other sweet smelling oils, and we mix kenongo with it just sufficient to give it an edge. Gaharu is a bit too pungent I think for a keris blade.

[silkreeler]

Thanks. Anyway, I'm still curious about other "flavoring" options, as sometimes I do find kerises with sharp musk like smell (misik?). Is there any criteria about which natural oils are safe on old blades? Say, PH?

[A. G. Maisey]

None that I know of. Its about keeping the spirit of the blade happy. Many people use menyan on Thursday night.

[Sajen]

I have a sewar which has a strong smell of clove oil. Alan, have you ever heard about the use of clove oil?

Regards,
Detlef

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I have a sewar which has a strong smell of clove oil. Alan, have you ever heard about the use of clove oil?

A small amount of clove oil is traditional used for maintaining katanas and other Japanese blades.

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by silkreeler

Has anyone tried using Agarwood / Gaharu to mix with mineral oil to replace Sandalwood? Is Agarwood oil safe for antique kerises? Though hardly cheap, Agarwood oil is more available plus I like the scent. It is getting frustrating lately to get real Sandalwood. I was told that almost everyone in the keris community has unknowingly been using synthetic, German-made Sandalwood oil, but they thought they've been using natural Kupang Sandalwood oil.

If authenticity is not necessary for you, Machine tool slideway oils like "Shell Tonna S2 M 220" would be a good choice.
Machine tool slideway oil creates a thin film over the whole surface and has no tendency to resinify.

I am using it for all my antique blades and it is very good.


Kind regards Roland