Chinese Camellia Oil

[Matt]

I'm not sure if anyone will have heard of this stuff - I only got some when dick-gmbh did a special offer a short while ago.
This is a really useful all purpose oil to carry in your pack. It's good for wood and metal plus you can cook with it or use it on your skin and hair! I also discovered recently that it arrests bleeding...although I haven't attempted to repeat that discovery, so it might have been a one off! If you leave the oil to dry on, it patinas fairly quickly and produces a good waterproof coating (I do this on my axe head).
It's not too outrageously price - about £8 for a litre plus postage.

I've only ever seen it at www.dick-gmbh.com (under sharpening oils) who, incidentally are a good source of fine tools like japanese saws, mostly for the workshop though, although they do sell the special edition GB axes and a range of japanese outdoor knives plus some puukkos. :-D

Don't buy the puukko knife blanks from here! They are really terrible!! :-x

 

[alick]

Hi Matt, it's great stuff isn't it.
I've been using japanese saw's, planes and chisels for ten odd years now and just wipe them off with Camellia oil when I'm finished. It's incredibly economical. Wipe the whole tool down, handle and all. The oil's so fine it's supposed to penetrate the surface pores of the metal, and not to cause problems with finishing if you take an oiled tool straight to your wood.

You can get camellia oil from our favorite supplier axminster power tools now, but if you like japanese stuff, "the craftsman's choice" section of Thanet Tool Supplies is worth tracking down. I believe they've the best range in the country - far beyond anyone else - and excellent mail order service. These guys can supply genuine japanese tools priced from a few pounds to special imports costing thousands.

For knife afficionados they're good for waterstones, nagura, flattening plates and grit as well as oil.

Cheers.

 

[JM]

There is also the Ballistol-Klever, prepared after WWI for the german army, very alkaline (more than the "sinensis" from dick-gmh, it foams like a soap) it sticks to metal even better, was designed a a gun oil, to dissolve powder and protect from rust, to protect metals, to protect leathers, to protect woods, to prevent skin rash and act a a local antiseptic on small wounds. It is edible too, my prefered, I always carry some Ballistol and a little Bush tea tree essential oil, which I use as antifongic, antiviral, antisceptic, antibiotic, and against mosquitos....

 

[JM]

Mmm I am not sure about the meaning of edible, my translation may be clumsy, I meant that it does not harm if ingested, not that you can use it to cook. It is fully vegetable oil though it smells a lot.