# Communities > Modern-era Swords and Collecting Community > Modern Production Katanas >  Olive oil for a katana blade ?

## David Bigler

Hi all,

I was wandering what type of oil you would recommend for a katana blade ?

Would simple olive oil do the job ?

regards

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## Mark Trick

Never use vegetable or animal based oils.  Vegetable oil gets thick and gunky.

Go to a drug store and find some light mineral oil.  Use only a very few drops, maybe 3 or 4 on each side of the blade and wipe it with a soft cloth.  Yu should only leave a very light sheen of oil, almost invisible.  Excess oil pools and causes drips inside the saya.  Oily sayas collect dust and that causes stratching and other problems so don't over oil.

Another alternative is light machine oil such as 3 in 1 or sewing machine oil.  Mineral oil mixed with a very small amount of clove oil (100 to 1 ratio) is traditional.

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## Tomas M.

^^^ as above really.

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## Hrvoje Samija

A thin coat of olive oil on a chef's knife that is used and wiped every, but every day, would be OK...

On a katana, a problem waiting to happen, as already explained above...

 :Big Grin:

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## David Bigler

Thank you !

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## J MacDonald

> A thin coat of olive oil on a chef's knife that is used and wiped every, but every day, would be OK...
> 
> On a katana, a problem waiting to happen, as already explained above...


Your chef's knife was stainless steel though, right?

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## M. Phan

Choji Oil is not that expensive.  Why use other oils?  An 8 oz choji oil bottle is $7.99.  It will last you for a very long time.

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## David Bigler

> Choji Oil is not that expensive.  Why use other oils?  An 8 oz choji oil bottle is $7.99.  It will last you for a very long time.


but maybe that oil is not that easy to find localy ?

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## M. Phan

> but maybe that oil is not that easy to find localy ?


There is an Ebay seller by the name Bonsai Mark who sell choji oil for use on bonsai tool.  It is $7.99 + $4.95 for shipping and handling.  Here is the link:

http://myworld.ebay.com/bonsaimark/

But if you are really frugal, mineral oil is more than good enough and they are everywhere.  Choji oil is just 99% mineral oil and 1% choji so that it smell good.  A 12 oz mineral oil bottle is around $6.00.

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## Hrvoje Samija

> Your chef's knife was stainless steel though, right?


I'm not talking about my knives, in my kitchen I have a few Arcos and Victorinox peaces, all SS and I don't fuss about them... The info was given to me by an aquaintance that is a real chef, and has some custom made knives, I believe from Japan but I'm not 100% sure... He said they are high carbon steel knives, very, very sharp, and that is the way he protects them when he is working with them every day, olive oil... Since it is used alot in the food here, it gives him less trouble than the camelia oil he uses if not working with his knives for a short time... He also said he uses food grade light mineral oil to store his knives for longer periods, along woth some silicon balls in pouches to pick up moisture... I'm not sure if all chefs are that fussy about their knives, but that's what he told me...  :Big Grin:

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## Claus Christoffersen

> Hi all,
> 
> I was wandering what type of oil you would recommend for a katana blade ?
> 
> Would simple olive oil do the job ?
> 
> regards


Don't use animal or vegitable oils - they all contain some acids and will further break down and form more acid when oxidising... short term a good quality vegitable oil is 'harmless' long term.. not so much.  

anyway, thats my 5 cents...

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## David Bigler

Ok, can paraffin oil be used then ?

regards

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## k.moralee

> Ok, can paraffin oil be used then ?
> 
> regards


Not entirely sure on parrafin oil. If you're unsue just go with sewing machine oil, available just about anywhere, very cheap and works just as good as choji. I've been using it for almost a year without issue.

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## David T Anderson

> but maybe that oil is not that easy to find localy ?


Well Dave -- It might help if you told us where you are.

LIGHT mineral oil can be found in many larger pharmacies...it's often used to remove makeup.  Don't worry about that...nobody will look at you funny if you ask for it.  It's cheap, and an 8 oz/500ml. bottle will last literally for years. You don't want HEAVY mineral oil...it's thick and gunky and pretty much unsuitable.

If you want a good approximation of real choji oil, you can usually get clove oil at pharmacies too [it's used as a balm for sore gums or toothache].  Add a few drops to your mineral oil and sniff.  Don't add too much...it can really reek if you go overboard.  In fact, you don't need the cloves at all...it was originally done so as not to get the sword oil mixed up with cooking oil [mineral oil has a laxative effect...in fact, that's what heavy mineral oil is mainly used for].

DON'T use any kind of vegetable or animal oil...it's acidic and contains water, and will damage your swordblade.  If you absolutely cannot find plain light mineral oil, high quality gun oil or sewing machine oil will do.  Find something that says unequivocally that it preserves and protects steel, steel finishes and wood and plastic.  BTW, NEVER, EVER use WD-40 as a protectant oil...it does a lousy job.

When you oil your sword, use only a very little bit of oil on a clean, soft cotton cloth [I use pieces of old, wornout pure cotton t-shirt].  I put two or three drops of oil on each side of the blade, then wipe it gently from habaki to tip.  The coating of oil should be barely discernible...too much will gunk up your blade and saya.

Dave, if you have gone to the trouble of getting any kind of decent sword, please go to the trouble of getting proper oil for it.  It's not rocket science.  Don't use just any old thing you have around the house...your sword deserves better.

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## tiziano s.

I use vaseline oil: good and leave no odor.

About  the quantity to be put on the blade, each has its say. I prefer a sharp well-oiled and the rest of the blade slightly. 
However for my MAS, I have two saya: one exposure and one to use. So, possibly (but how many bottles of oil should I use ?) would suffer only the saya ( interior) for exposure!

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## John Coris

A soaked with too much oil saya may gather dust and thus rust the blade...

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## tiziano s.

I tihink anyone to think to put the oil, from the bottle, directly on the blade until it drip to the ground ...

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## David R

I have always been told that mineral oil rots the wood of the scabbard,and can stain an original blade, a thin coat of vaseline works ok, and is what I often use.
 I am experimenting now with "watch oil" which is a stabilised olive oil, used originaly on clocks and watches!

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## J Cooper

Ive heard that depending on price, the quality of Choji Oil varies. is this true or will any choji oil do the job?

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## Aaron Justice

> I have always been told that mineral oil rots the wood of the scabbard,and can stain an original blade, a thin coat of vaseline works ok, and is what I often use.
>  I am experimenting now with "watch oil" which is a stabilised olive oil, used originaly on clocks and watches!


Only if you heavily, HEAVILY oil a blade, enough to soak the wood of a saya, which is way, WAY too much. Mineral oil has seemed to have worked fine for nearly a millenia. A few tiny drops on a clean, smooth cloth.

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## David R

The subject of the different oils and greases used over the centuries is  a fascinating one, possibly worth it's own thread.
 Mineral oil has only been in use for a couple of centuries at the most. Even during the American Civil War guns were oiled with vegetable and or animal origin oils and greases. And some industrial uses still prefer organic oils and grease. One of the reasons for the whaling industry was that whale oil was the preferred cutting and tempering oil during the  Industrial Revolution. In  medieval Europe the prefered oil was "tree oil" or as we call it Olive oil.
 You don't get much in the way of mineral oils and grease until you have a mineral oil industry some time in the mid to late 19th C. Natural seepage above ground was too erratic to base an industry on, and deep drilling was limited by the technology.
 Vasaline appears round about the early 20th cent, a byproduct of the oil industry and called "pump grease" by riggers who used it to treat abrasions at work.

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## Lovebell Forrest

> Ive heard that depending on price, the quality of Choji Oil varies. is this true or will any choji oil do the job?


Yes there is. Ive found some watered down stuff. After that Ive always bought from Bugei. I only have 4 blades now. So a little dab goes a long way.

http://www.bugei.com/cleaning-kits-12-ctg.htm

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