Oiling your wooden weapons

marmaduke · Yellow Belt

Could use some input on this.

My sons Sensei prefers all wooden weapons to be raw wood. No varnish or other hard coating on them. He says the wood can "stick" to your skin after constant use.

For the raw wood. He recommends oiling the wood to prevent it from becoming brittle. He used to provide a bottle of marine oil that he said was part Teak oil and part Coconut oil. He ran out and hasn't gotten anymore yet. I couldn't find this combo anywhere and got just plain Teak oil. Now, during the Winter months, the Teak oil is acting funny. My son is getting a "glaze" on the wood. I end up sanding this off and trying the oil again. Sometime it works, sometime I get the glaze again.

I asked him about this and he said to use just plain coconut oil. So I got a jar. Its liquid at 76 Deg. and a solid at 74 Deg. I'm kind of wondering if he was pulling my leg about this.

Bottom line....Does anyone oil their wooden weapons? What do you use?

Montana · Orange Belt

Linseed oil...it makes the wood harder/tougher and resists moisture. I use it on all of my wooden weapons (bo, tonfa, kama handles, niton bo, and nunchauku)...have since about 1980...works for me.
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harleyt26 · Orange Belt

I use a UV protectant tung oil the brand I use is Behr not sure about the spelling but I order it at Home Depot.Crane Mountain Weapons recommends this oil.
Tom Hoges
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CloudDragon · Purple Belt

I use extra virgin olive oil, it works as well as linseed oil, but you want to be sure to wipe it well and let it dry. I have been using it since 1990 with my bo and it is still in great condition.
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sangngak · Yellow Belt

Yeahm Behr Tung oil is great. The reason for no varnish is that varnished wood will make blisters. If you check the oars used on fishing boats or lifeboats, they will not have varnish where the hand grips.
If you want something you don't have to oil, there used to be an okinawan teacher around Kansas City, MO who would get teak or iron wood bo and escrime sticks and then they were heated and impregnated with a fiberglass substance. Talk about unbreakable. I was given a bo of his. I backed off and ran at a steel stanchion and hit it like I was swinging a ball bat. No break. Just put a small dent in my stick.
But I have some old Bo from back in the 60's when they were of oak, and I oil and oil them and they haven't cracked yet.

marmaduke · Yellow Belt

Thanks everyone. I went with the Tung Oil. It seems to work good, but I'm getting a slight shine to the wood. Feels O.K. though. Oh well. Must be due to Winter. Have to see how it looks in summer.

Sasori_Te · Black Belt

Tung oil does make the wood shiny. Over time the coats act sort of like a varnish. I would also recommend soaking your weapon ( yes this is a pain ) in something like mineral oil or linseed oil for 3 or 4 days then let it hang dry for 3 or 4 more days and then apply the tung oil. This will keep the weapon from drying out from the core. Good luck.
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