Canned Shinai oil?

[Hoogoos]

What exactly is in those cans of shinai oil?
And is it really worth it?
Or should I just get boilled linseed oil?

[joekc6nlx]

dunno what's in the canned shinai oil, although it's got to be vegetable based.

I use lemon oil, which I found in the furniture care section of my grocery store. It's light, soaks in quickly, and seems to remain quite well. Plus, you don't have to use it all that often. I usually soak the staves overnight by pooling the oil in the depressions of the staves, moving it around every so often, and then wiping off the excess in the morning. I suppose you could make a soaking tube out of PVC pipe and some end caps, but that's kind of extreme.

You can also use boiled linseed oil, but I think it's heavier than you need, it tends to stand on the surface for a little while. Also, make sure you're getting pure boiled linseed oil, not some mixture of lacquers and other things you don't want.

[Kendoka]

What exactly is in those cans of shinai oil?
And is it really worth it?
Or should I just get boilled linseed oil?

Judging by the smell and taste, I reckon it is canola, (or rape-seed oil) that has been boiled, then cooled and canned with a propellant.

I have used canola from my kitchen and it feels and smells very similar.

[stuartwilson]

I have used linseed oil. Straight from the can, it IS too much. Now I cut it 50/50 with turpentine and it seems to work fine. I've noticed that the oil can add noticably to the sword's weight. I oil my cheap-o practice shinais with a couple of coats that soak in overnight. After the last wipe down, I let them dry another day and then buff them with steel wool. That keeps them from being gummy. I don't oil my best shinais at all. The oiled ones seem to last about 2-3 times as long. I think soaking in a tube would be overkill, unless you want to use one as a torch.

[nikozamo]

you dont need to use a strange oil... y use the oil for cooking (not olive obiously) and works very well, hahahaha i have a friend how sometimes put water in the shinai... for me is wrong do that but his shinai still alive...

[Hoogoos]

Does the lemon and canola oil give a weird smell to the shinai?

[ender84567]

Judging by the smell and taste, I reckon it is canola, (or rape-seed oil) that has been boiled, then cooled and canned with a propellant.

I have used canola from my kitchen and it feels and smells very similar.

you tasted it?? did you eat paint chips as a kid?? lol

[nikozamo]

come on! you only need the normal oil like for french fries (but without use of course... x___X)

[JLee]

I've been using the spray can shinai oil for about 6 months. Before that, I've been using a mixture of mineral oil and vegetable oil (3:1). I have to say, it is much easier and less time consuming. It also makes less mess (at least for me).

The store told me that it was made of natural bamboo oil - whether I believe that or not, it certainly is lighter than using my previous oil mixture and keeps shinai well-maintained. The down-side of spray can is its cost, $16 a can.

[ender84567]

Right now i am using the light mineral oil i get from work. I like the fact that it cant go rancid like veggie based products (my nose is a lil sensitive to such things) and it doesnt add much weight to the shinai.

[dogmeat]

i used parafin oil, bought at a drugstore. it dries in few hours, and shines the shinai pretty well without making it sticky or smelly.
when i used it i thought of trying to find if something like a bamboo oil exists in those health-and-veggy shops, reckon that bamboo oil if i can find it would be best used on bamboo.
there is of course a palm oil, which is a bit expensive, at least in my country.

[Asura]

I use oil for sewing machines.
Light and fine oil, seems to work with my shinai.