"dadiOH" wrote in :

"Electric Comet" wrote in message

I wanted to find a good oil, cheap that can be used on bowls and
other food things. I saw walnut oil in a video. Have you tried
coconut oil? The things that are important are a stable oil that
doesn't go rancid. Doesn't smell bad, neutral's ok.

Have you tried cooking oils? Canola, grape seed, sunflower seed, etc.
It's okay if the oil has to be re-applied now and again.

Mineral oil's readily available and I see people using that but it
can get slightly gummy/sticky.

If you've tried an oil and like it that would be good to know about.

IIRC, coconut oil doesn't dry so I would skip it (ditto mineral oil).

I would think that any oil that dries and which is derived from
something edible would be fine. Personally, I use tung oil or boiled
linseed oil, both are easy to find. Yes, the BLO has dryers in it but
once cured it is fine.



*ALL* vegetable oils can go rancid. In fact the drying process involves
partial oxidisation, as does Oxidative rancidity.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancidification

Your only hope of avoiding a taint if left in contact with food
containing lipids is to use an inert mineral oil or wax, or to use a
coating that when fully cured is oil and solvent resistant.

I have a knife here that has an oak handle that was hot impregnated with
pure paraffin wax (by repeatedly melting the wax into the surface with a
hot air gun) when I made it some 20 years ago. It gets washed up
normally nearly every day, with the only care being to hand dry it after
use as it has a carbon steel blade. The handle will still take a good
sheen if buffed with a paper towel and there has been absolulely no
deterioration.

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