I've never heard anyone NOT recommend oiling. It is true that the oils are
removed originally as part of the curing process of the bamboo. It is a side
effect of the process of expelling the "juices" of the still-green stem.
Otherwise the thing never dries! Once the process is finished the stem is
left to sit for several (3-20) years until it has hardened and become
dimensionally stable before work is begun.
No one seems to know why some bamboo cracks and some doesn't. It is clear
that once dry it is under quite a bit of tension--probably due to
differential shrinkage of the membranes inside. If you go into a bamboo
grove and look at the dead sticks it is clear that in the wild all dead
bamboo cracks after a year or two, so we have to take measures to prevent
this in our flutes. Most makers claim that longer curing helps prevent
cracking in the long run. Smoking the bamboo is also said to help.
The big problem is that the bamboo fibers are still hygroscopic, and as they
absorb and lose moisture they swell and shrink.
The bore is lacquered, so this happens not so much with playing as with
atmospheric humidity changes. The amount of swelling and shrinkage can be
quite significant--I have a flute that was cracked and banded, and I can see
the crack separate between the bands (which are placed at appx. 4 cm
intervals) when I take the flute from my house to a hotel--normally a change
of humidity of about 30%.
The idea of oiling is to seal the "pores" of the bamboo so that they cannot
absorb moisture, because they are already filled with oil. Obviously one
needs a light oil for this. I would guess that a heavy oil just sits on the
surface, but if it is there it would repel water and act as a waterproofing
agent to some extent. No oil is as light as water, unfortunately.
The bamboo swells and shrinks as a result of temperature changes as well, so
oiling is no guarantee against cracking, although I think it does help.
The recommendation I have heard is to always keep a light coat of oil on the
flute and to keep the flute in plastic. I think this is good advice which I
do not follow, but I live in Japan where the humidity is high. I do oil my
flutes regularly, although they have sometimes gone for long periods unoiled
without ill effect.
Still the best guarantee against cracking is banding, although many people
find it unsightly. Still and all, a cracked flute is more unsightly still.
Best,
Toby Marshall
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hill Peter" <shakahuna@yahoo.com>
To: <shakuhachi@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 4:12 PM
Subject: kukui oil
> I'd think that a stable oil, like that from
> nuts/seeds, is best, but not one extracted chemically.
> For years I've been using some apricot oil that I got
> in Ladakh since I know it was manually pressed out,
> doesn't go rancid (or at least hasn't yet), and is
> very light. It also imparts a slight but appealing
> fragrance. It's easy to find but I don't know what
> type of extraction process is generally used.
>
> The kukui nut is definitely not the coconut. It's
> used in Hawai'i for softening the skin as well as for
> excema, acne, and other skin conditions (it's also a
> very strong laxative). Since it belongs to the spurge
> family, which also contains the castor plant and the
> rubber tree, castor oil would probably work as a
> substitute, and since Castrol motor oil is derived
> from castor beans...perhaps that's what Tom was
> referring to ;-).
>
> I only oil my old shakuhahchi and only when it's
> looking really dry, since it seems to me that too much
> oil would deaden the resonance a bit, and the maker
> removed the bamboo oils when making the
> instrument...I've heard arguments both ways and would
> like to hear more on the merits/demerits of using oil.
>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Jan 31 2001 - 12:46:39 PST