The Very Dry/Hot Day/Cold Night cycle in southern Arizona, USA is brutal on wood products of all kinds, not just shinai. (also car batteries, people's skin, what have you

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We usually oil shinai 4-6 times a year, and at least twice a year brush oil along the inside of the habu and let drain. Usually we are oiling the shinai anyway. We have never taken the habu apart for the procedure.
However, I practice kendo about 3 times as much as naginata, so the habu get much less use.
For oil, nothing fancy - a lemon oil based furniture polish.
For the brush, a thin, 1/2 inch wide number we picked up at a kitchen store.
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