Shakuhachi care - oiling
Shakuhachi care - oiling
Hello everyone,
I got my first shakuhachi just a few weeks ago, and after a few days of trying it out I decided to put it back on the shelve and wrap it in film since I don't have the proper accessories to clean it yet (they are coming soon, though). I was wondering then how I may keep the bamboo nice and healthy for when I start playing it for real? What type of oil is the best to use and where do I get it from? The man in this video (whom I believe I've also seen on this board) is apparently using turbine oil, but he also states in the video that he had previously used olive oil and that it works just as well. A commentator states that camellia oil is the best to use, etc. etc. This is the video I'm talking about:
[Flash unavailable]
So now I am asking all you professionals: What is the right oil to use when oiling the (bamboo) shakuhachi and where is the best place to get it from? I currently recide in Copenhagen, Denmark so if there are any fellow Danes here on this board who know something I don't, then I would appreciate it very much if you could help me out as well
Thank you in advance,
Rasmus
I got my first shakuhachi just a few weeks ago, and after a few days of trying it out I decided to put it back on the shelve and wrap it in film since I don't have the proper accessories to clean it yet (they are coming soon, though). I was wondering then how I may keep the bamboo nice and healthy for when I start playing it for real? What type of oil is the best to use and where do I get it from? The man in this video (whom I believe I've also seen on this board) is apparently using turbine oil, but he also states in the video that he had previously used olive oil and that it works just as well. A commentator states that camellia oil is the best to use, etc. etc. This is the video I'm talking about:
[Flash unavailable]
So now I am asking all you professionals: What is the right oil to use when oiling the (bamboo) shakuhachi and where is the best place to get it from? I currently recide in Copenhagen, Denmark so if there are any fellow Danes here on this board who know something I don't, then I would appreciate it very much if you could help me out as well
Thank you in advance,
Rasmus
I've read somewhere that walnut oil and tung oil are good to apply onto your flute. Can I buy any walnut oil in grocery stores and use that without damaging the bore, or is there a specific 'flute walnut oil' which I need to apply? The same question goes for the tung oil: Can I buy regular tung oil in a store and apply without any risk of damage?
Most Japanese players have advised me camellia oil. My teacher says that salad oil is ok 
I've been using both sweet almond and camellia oils for 12 years, and never had any problem.
I've been using both sweet almond and camellia oils for 12 years, and never had any problem.
"JF Lagrost""JF Lagrost"Most Japanese players have advised me camellia oil. My teacher says that salad oil is ok
I've been using both sweet almond and camellia oils for 12 years, and never had any problem.
Thank you very much!
Searching for almond oil through the Danish webs and this is what comes up:
http://www.matas.dk/mandelolie-fed-soed-500-ml
Allow me to translate:
"This oil is a true delicacy with a mild, sweet and gentle flowery flavour that gives fresh salads an aromatic, pleasent odour and taste. Almond oil is also used outwardly as a very pleasant cosmetic oil against dry and chapped hands in massages."
Can I apply this oil onto my flute with unruffled calm and be sure that it doesn't damage the material?
I did manage to find some camellia oil but it comes with a hefty price tag of 954,- Danish kroner (approximately $157 USD per bottle). Excuse me for being so foul-mouthed but that is bloody expensive! I will try and look for it somewhere else.
Thanks again!
Hej Rasmus
Jeg tror ikke, du skal tænke så meget over, hvilken olie, du bruger. Det skal bare være en rimelig god vegetabilsk olie, som du synes lugter godt. Jeg har for det meste brugt olivenolie selv, men har også brugt mandelolie, der pga dens lethed absorberes hurtigt af fløjten.
Har du en plastikpose til fløjten? DU kan selv lave tsuyutoshi ved at binde en snor med nogle tunge glasperler i den ene ende på en klud. Så kan du trække kluden igennem fløjten efter brug og putte fløjten i plastikposen. Lige her på det sidste har det været så fugtigt i vejret i Danmark, at du sagtens kan spille og lade den ligge. Men pas på, hvis det bliver for tørt i vejret!
Held og lykke med det!
Jeg tror ikke, du skal tænke så meget over, hvilken olie, du bruger. Det skal bare være en rimelig god vegetabilsk olie, som du synes lugter godt. Jeg har for det meste brugt olivenolie selv, men har også brugt mandelolie, der pga dens lethed absorberes hurtigt af fløjten.
Har du en plastikpose til fløjten? DU kan selv lave tsuyutoshi ved at binde en snor med nogle tunge glasperler i den ene ende på en klud. Så kan du trække kluden igennem fløjten efter brug og putte fløjten i plastikposen. Lige her på det sidste har det været så fugtigt i vejret i Danmark, at du sagtens kan spille og lade den ligge. Men pas på, hvis det bliver for tørt i vejret!
Held og lykke med det!
"Kiku Day""Kiku Day"Hej Rasmus
Jeg tror ikke, du skal tænke så meget over, hvilken olie, du bruger. Det skal bare være en rimelig god vegetabilsk olie, som du synes lugter godt. Jeg har for det meste brugt olivenolie selv, men har også brugt mandelolie, der pga dens lethed absorberes hurtigt af fløjten.
Har du en plastikpose til fløjten? DU kan selv lave tsuyutoshi ved at binde en snor med nogle tunge glasperler i den ene ende på en klud. Så kan du trække kluden igennem fløjten efter brug og putte fløjten i plastikposen. Lige her på det sidste har det været så fugtigt i vejret i Danmark, at du sagtens kan spille og lade den ligge. Men pas på, hvis det bliver for tørt i vejret!
Held og lykke med det!
Tusind tak, Kiku!
Jeg har ikke en reel plasticpose til at opbevare fløjten i. Den ligger lige nu derhjemme, rullet ind i film, og putter sig i den pap æske, den oprindeligt kom i. Jeg venter i øjeblikket på et kit fra Perry, som bl.a. indeholder en tsuyotoshi, en flot taske, en utaguchi kasket og et plasticrør til opbevaring. Jeg ved godt det lyder fjollet, at jeg bruger så mange penge på noget, jeg i bund og grund kunne lave selv. Jeg vil bare gerne være på den sikre side, nu når det er min første fløjte. Jeg har aldrig ligefrem været den store handyman
Er der nogle steder i Danmark, hvor jeg kan købe lange plasticposer, der kan rumme en 1.8? Jeg mindes aldrig at have set noget lignende med dem, som fyren har i videoen i nogle danske butikker.
Jeg har bare så mange spørgsmål vedrørende vedligeholdelse af fløjten, at jeg er lige ved at sprænges! Der er så mange faktorer, der spiller ind, bl.a. luftfugtighed, temperatur, vejrforhold, etc. etc. Jeg bliver vel bare nødt til at tage tingene, som de kommer
Lad os snakke sammen. Jeg mener jeg har en plastikpose i overskud endnu, selv om jeg også er ved at være i bund.
i recommend Tung oil. it dry to a hard shiny or semi shiny finish and dry fast. you can get a bottle from ebay rather cheaply.
i use this one for oiling jinashi flutes, and giving some shine to a dull looking bamboo and roots sometimes.
also use it to oil recorders
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Formbys-8-oz-Tung-Oil-Clear-Oil-Finish-High-Gloss-h…
in any case, dont use almond oil or olive oil (and some other ones as well) because they never really dry, they just rot and become all sticky...
drying oils for example are tung oil, flaxseed oil, chestnut oil.
there is some article about the subject in here
http://www.navaching.com/shaku/shakuindex.html
i use this one for oiling jinashi flutes, and giving some shine to a dull looking bamboo and roots sometimes.
also use it to oil recorders
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Formbys-8-oz-Tung-Oil-Clear-Oil-Finish-High-Gloss-h…
in any case, dont use almond oil or olive oil (and some other ones as well) because they never really dry, they just rot and become all sticky...
drying oils for example are tung oil, flaxseed oil, chestnut oil.
there is some article about the subject in here
http://www.navaching.com/shaku/shakuindex.html
I have been using regular culinary walnut oil that you can buy in grocery stores on all my flutes as well as guitar fingerboards. Walnut oil is a drying oil and will leave a finish very close to the hardness of tung oil, but will not leave the funky odor that pure tung oil can do (to my nose a wierd bacony smell-unless you want your shak to smell like that). If you use tung oil, be careful not to get tung oil that has petroleum additives to speed the drying time.
If you use walnut oil, just apply liberally to the flute (you can use your hands), wipe off the excess and put it aside overnight to harden. If you want to repeat the process, wait a few days then re-apply.
If you use walnut oil, just apply liberally to the flute (you can use your hands), wipe off the excess and put it aside overnight to harden. If you want to repeat the process, wait a few days then re-apply.
Do we really need to oil our flutes in this day and age when shakuhachi can be placed in securely fastened plastic bags or fancy flute bags with a vapour barrier? I can understand oiling if you like to have your shakuhachi out on a stand for display, but if you are keeping it in a bag such that the surrounding moisture content is likely to remain stable, it seems rather unnecessary and maybe even harmful.
Complex question.... During years I heard all opinions on this subject... Do oil... Don't oil... On the surface... Never on the surface but on the root... In the same line there is: use a dampit... Never use a dampit... etc. I came to the opinion that nobody really knows for sure what to do. I also believe that if a bamboo has a weakness then it will crack whatever we do. Personnaly I stopped oiling my shakuhachi and only take care of the storage... But maybe I am wrong;-) No problems for the moment so I cross my fingers...
It is true that it is not easy to know what to do. The opinions diverge on this subject.
It is difficult to realize what is effective because if we make something and if it takes place nothing, we think that we are right to make what we make and we continue.
If Shakuhachi splits, we think that we not made what was needed, while that has maybe no relationship with what we made or what we not made.
That has to depend on several factors, the bamboo, the geographical origin of the bamboo compared with the weather conditions where the one lives who plays it...
How to know? Best what is to make what we think of being best, without certainty !
It is difficult to realize what is effective because if we make something and if it takes place nothing, we think that we are right to make what we make and we continue.
If Shakuhachi splits, we think that we not made what was needed, while that has maybe no relationship with what we made or what we not made.
That has to depend on several factors, the bamboo, the geographical origin of the bamboo compared with the weather conditions where the one lives who plays it...
How to know? Best what is to make what we think of being best, without certainty !
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