[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, as I mentioned in my lengthy post above, I have used WD40 for a very long time.

If WD40 became publicly available in Australia in , say, 1965, it is certain that I have treated more than 2000 blades with WD40. I began treating all sorts of blades, keris included, with penetrating oil sometime between 1953 and 1960, as soon as WD40 became available I began to use that. Between 1953 and 1960 I would have treated perhaps a couple of hundred blades.

My keris collection began in 1953 with a gift of a collection from my grandfather, I still have some of those keris and other edged weapons, and they would have been treated several times with WD40 during the time I have had them.

I have never experienced any problem at all that is related to the inability of fragrant oils to penetrate WD40 or the penetrating oil I used to use. In fact several times prior to 1966 I used clove oil on my keris. I did this because at that time I was unaware of the oils used in Jawa for keris, but I had heard that Japanese blades were anointed with clove oil, so I jumped onto the clove oil cart.

I have not used clove oil on a blade in more than 50 years, however, some of blades that I anointed with clove oil more than 50 years ago still retain a very faint smell of clove oil that underlies the later applications of sandalwood and kenongo.

I do not know why your use of WD40 did not produce satisfactory results, and if you have no confidence in WD40 for whatever reason, it is best that you do not use it, but WD40 most certainly does work for me.



Pusaka, I greatly appreciate your detailed listing of the protective qualities of some natural oils, however, in the case of the oils that are traditionally used on keris in Jawa, this information is not really relevant. The oils that we use in Jawa are selected for social and cultural reasons, not really for efficacy as protectant barriers against corrosion. Of course whatever oil is used on a blade, there will be some protective effect, but in in Jawa, that effect is a side effect, not a primary objective.

Once a keris moves outside its Javanese, or other natural environment, it has been freed from the parameters that would apply in its place of origin, most particularly so where that keris is in the custody of a person whose objectives in having possession of the keris differ from the objectives of a person from the originating culture of the keris.

In other words once it has ceased to be a part of its originating culture and is being cared for by a person who does not understand that culture, any oil that gives some sort of protection is better than no oil at all.

As I just mentioned, I used clove oil myself many years ago, I used to buy it from a pharmacist. I do not find the smell particularly objectionable, but it used to go hard on the blades, even though I used it, I did not like it much for blade use.

Rose oil is an oil that is considered to be suitable for use on keris, it is not favoured by many people, but it is used.

Ylang ylang oil is definitely not used in Jawa as a traditional keris oil.

What happened with ylang ylang is this:- ylang ylang oil is produced from the same tree that provides kenanga (kenongo) oil, but kenanga oil is produced from the immature flower, ylang ylang is produced from the mature flower.

When minyak (oil) kenongo is used in keris oil, only a very small quantity is used, in the oil that I prepare that quantity is about 5%, its effect is to give a very sharp edge to the smell, and to reduce the sometimes overpowering sweetness of the minyak cendana (cendono - sandalwood).

Now, when keris interested people who live in countries other than Indonesia found out that minyak kenongo was a component of many traditional keris oils, they tried to buy it , but they found that they could not, however, a few of these people did the research and found that minyak kenongo came from the same flower as ylang ylang oil (the cananga odorata blossom). Because they had never smelt raw minyak kenongo they assumed that ylang ylang oil and minyak kenongo were the same. This was an incorrect assumption. Ylang ylang oil is vastly different to minyak kenongo.

In respect of wintergreen oil.
This oil is produced from a group of plants that are native to the Americas, it is most definitely not a component of any keris oil that follows a traditional Javanese combination of oils.
The traditional oils used in Jawa that use coconut oil as a base invariably go rancid and congeal on the blade, unless regularly replaced --- a requirement which is obviously quite beneficial for the people who sell ready to use keris oil.