Oils

[Bill S]

I got a small quantity of sandalwood oil and tried to mix it as per the recipe noted above - but it does not mix with the mineral oil. My first reaction was to assume that this indicates it's not actually sandalwood "oil", but some water-based sandalwood scent. The person I bought it from insists it's good quality distilled oil - but is willing to take it back and refund my money. Before I do that, however, I'd like to ask here among more experienced people - is there a trick to disolving sandalwood oil in mineral oil? Is this, as I suspected, not truly sandalwood oil? Is there a simple test I can use?

[David]

All i do is mix the oils together in a bottle and shake vigorously. I would say that if your mixture looks like what happens when oil and water are mixed then it is most probable that you have water in one of the oils you are mixing.

[A. G. Maisey]

I've been mixing sandalwood + kenanga + liquid parafin for years and years. Mostly I've used oil I've bought in Solo, but on a couple of occasions when I've run out, I've bought stuff from the nearest hippy shop. I've never had the slightest difficulty.

I just mix it roughly by guessing at the quantity---half a bottle of medicinal parafin, add almost the other half of sandalwood, top up with kenanga, and shake the bottle. If its cold weather I put the bottle in warm water for a while before I shake it. No tricks involved.

Bill, I reckon that you've got this fragrance in a base other than oil, as you guess. My wife has just got back from Solo, and I had her try to buy some of the oil I use when she was there. My supplier there no longer stocks it, but they gave her a sample of what they now stock. What they stock is a good quality sandalwood oil that has been diluted by adding to something other than oil, I think it has probably been added to a spirit base, because it seems to evaporate when you put a drop on your skin, a bit like perfume does, sort of goes into your skin, the fragrance lasts for a long time, but there is no oily feeling where you put it.

[PUFF]

Originally Posted by Bill S

I got a small quantity of sandalwood oil and tried to mix it as per the recipe noted above - but it does not mix with the mineral oil. My first reaction was to assume that this indicates it's not actually sandalwood "oil", but some water-based sandalwood scent. The person I bought it from insists it's good quality distilled oil - but is willing to take it back and refund my money. Before I do that, however, I'd like to ask here among more experienced people - is there a trick to disolving sandalwood oil in mineral oil? Is this, as I suspected, not truly sandalwood oil? Is there a simple test I can use?

Hope my reply is not too late
I just experimented with sandalwood oil, obtained from essential oil company. It should be pure, extracted essential oil rather than sandalwood spiked spa (jojoba/coconut) oil.

The sandalwood essential oil 's chemistry is mainly santalol, high molecular weight alcohol/terpene. It contains hydroxyl group which not totally compatible with mineral/petrolium oils. I tried diluting the sandalwood essential oil in mineral oils at 1% and 10% v/v. (didn't try something in between... yet)

At 1%, no problem, clear solution. But at 10%, the solution 's turbid but not separated.

If your oil 's pure, distilled sandalwood essential oil, put less than 1% in your recipe. Or, if you need higher concentration, put some plant based (coconut/almond/jojoba) to improve mixture compatibility.

[Rick]

Since this thread has resurfaced I'd like to report on my latest Sandalwood oil purchase last Winter .

The oil is a blend of :
East Indian
West Indian
Indonesian
Australian
and
African
Sandalwood oils; no more is available at this point .
US $19.89 per ounce; bought 4 ounces .
Pleasant and well rounded scent .

Mixes well with light mineral oil .

Rick

[ferrylaki]

I'am now using melati/jasmine.
I love my keris smell sweet. but I do keep my cendana oil for the future.
since it's becoming more and more difficult to find.

[Rick]

What would be the shelf life of this stuff ?
Currently it's stored in a spun aluminum 4oz bottle .

[David]

Sandalwood has a somewhat longer self life than many other oils and if properly stored (cool, dark places...no temperature changes) could last from 6-8 years or longer.

[A. G. Maisey]

All this talk of incredibly expensive essential oils makes me a little bit embarrassed.

Makes me feel like a bit of peasant --- or even worse:- an outright cheapskate.

For 30 or 40 years I've used European produced sandalwood --- undoubtedly synthetic --- that I have bought in bulk from sellers of essential oils in Solo, Jawa. What I have been using since I began using the Javanese scented oil approach is exactly the same as everybody I have ever known involved with keris in Solo uses.

The raw materials are not collected from mystical 500 year old trees standing on top of haunted mountains.

Sure, its not distilled in gold pots over a slow fire of ebony wood.

Its not conjured over by wizards who use secret methods handed down from ancient kings.

Its not stored in crystal cylinders suspended by gold cords in sub terranian chambers.

But it is cheap, and it smells OK.

I used to buy "Sandescan" by Schimmel & Co. a German firm.

My current bottles bear the brand:- H&R = Haarmann & Reimer, another German firm.This oil is labelled "Sandescone"

I think H&R were taken over by Symrise AG a couple of years ago. This is another German firm.

I buy by the kilo, not by the gram, and I have never paid anything like the prices you other gentlemen are paying.

If we only have a few keris to anoint from time to time, I guess the gilt-edged approach is not too expensive, but if we need to look after a lot of keris, these cunningly hand crafted oils are just too expensive