oil for keris

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I make up a mix of +/-50% medicinal paraffin or Singer Sewing Machine Oil and +/-45% synthetic sandalwood oil together with +/-5% natural kenanga oil.

I was given this recipe many years ago by a m'ranggi who had descended from a long line of m'ranggis, his family had used this mix for a very long time.

The reason they used synthetic sandalwood oil is because the fragrance was consistent and long term performance was consistent, they had used synthetic oil imported from Germany since before WWII. Synthetic is also cheaper than natural.

In the original recipe they used coconut oil, but coconut oil is a very bad base for keris oil, it goes rancid, it stinks, it solidifies on the blade, it requires constant replacement --- but coconut oil is the most common oil in Central Jawa, so it is easy to get and cheap.

Very interesting! Thank you very much!