Waster Maitenance

[Brendan Murphy]

I recieved a NSA Perfect 45" for Christmas. Now I live in upstate New York, where is it incredibly dry right now, and I have already noticed some gaps appearing in the layers of the cross and hilt, and some slivering on the cross itself.

Pardon my French, but what the hell do I do? Use wood oil? Contact NSA? Sand it down and glue up the seperations?

[Allen Johnson]

wiping the whole thing down with linseed oil seems to be the best thing for keeping your new waster healthy

[GaryGrzybek]

I'd definately go with what Allen said about linseed oil. Many people neglect to do this and the waster either warps or becomes brittle and will eventually crack. You only need to rub on a thin layer with a rag. Applying too much at once will only leave the waster sticky and unpleasant to hold. I also recommend inspecting your waster for splinters ocassionally. They can easily be removed with some sand paper.

[Jonathan Scott]

Ah, good advice (also received an NSA waster), I shall try to follow it.
Need to get some linseed oil first though...and I'm not too keen on storing it in my dorm room. Oh well I suppose I could keep it covered with a ziplock bag or something to make sure it doesn't fume or anything...

[Bill Welch]

mineral oil also works pretty good as a sealent(sp?). It does not smell at all!

[Brian Hunt]

I also use tung oil on wasters because linseed oil gives me a migraine.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[Jonathan Scott]

My waster still smells strongly of the linseed from the initial coating since it's fairly new, but farther down the road, how often should I apply the linseed/tung/mineral oil (or maybe a mixture of two of these?) to it? Once a month? Once a week?

[GaryGrzybek]

It depends, but I would say every few weeks in the begining.

[Lorraine Munoa]

Hearsay, but I heard that the guys in ARMA Provo found out that Linseed oil ruins the glue NSA uses on the wasters, and that Tung Oil is best... Guys? That true?

[Jonathan Scott]

well considering NSA uses linseed (or something that smells just like it) to give the waster a finish, I doubt that...but maybe it was tung oil they finished it with...what's the difference anyway? isn't tung made from linseed?...or am I pulling that from nowhere?

[Brian Hunt]

No, Tung Oil and Linseed oil are made from different species of seeds or nuts. Tung Oil comes from the nuts of a tree and Linseed oil comes from the seeds of the flax plant. See these two links for more info.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/tungoil1.htm

http://www.woodzone.com/articles/wood_finishes.htm

Interestingly enough, the flax plant is also used for the fiber to make Linen, a traditional cloth that was used in Medieval Europe. There is a historical verse that I have read somewhere that speaks of a Jack (type of cloth armour) being made of 20-30 layers of linen. If anyone is interested, I could track it down.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[Zach Palfreyman]

You want to keep wood glue out of water or extreme cold or hot. I think you heard to keep oil away from the glue in general, not that linseed in particular is bad. I would say that tung oil is better because it dries faster, but you can easily get boiled linseed which has additives that makes it dry faster. Linseed can also discolor with age if you find that important. You can also get both with a bit of varnish which would give a harder finish.

I wouldn't bother oiling my waster more than once a month, and probably only every 4 months if I wasn't sparring and banging it around a lot. Keeping it out of the rain and snow, and dry and stuff like that will be more useful than oiling it all the time. If I was going to put something on it a lot, I"d probably use a wood lub before winding and freeplay to make it more slippery like steel.

Linseed oil comes from extracting stuff from flaxseed oil, that is probably what you were thinking of. Tung oil is from China.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't worry about the waster 'drying out' either. That sounds kind of like a myth or something. Fresh cut wood will split as it dries out, that is why they purposely dry it out long before it is turned into a waster. So I wouldn't worry about it drying out, it is already dry as it will get. Keeping it dry is much more important at this stage.

[Jeff Hansen]

As a professional woodworker I have to take issue with your theory of "dryer is better". "Green" lumber (fresh cut)is much better suited to use as a waster than dried. Dry lumber is much more brittle. Unfortunately, short of leaving it on the tree, it won't stay green forever. So we purposely dry it and then replace the natural moisture with oil that doesn't evaporate. I've actually been toying with the Idea of a linseed oil "bath" for my wasters, so that I can let them soak for more complete penetration. I make my own wasters with polyurethane glue instead of wood glue, so that isn't an issue for me.

More oil, not less, is the key to a healthy waster.

[Zach Palfreyman]

If you have some good evidence to back that up then please share. But the truth of the matter, as I know it, is dry wood is a lot stronger than wet wood, weighs a lot less, is easier to machine, glues together better, not at risk from decay and mold, and absorbs varnish and oils better. And unless you have some way of keeping all the water in the wood, over time the moisture content will slowly decrease as it dries out, and the wood will shrink and split. Oil repels water, you put it on to keep water out, and varnish will make a hard protective coat on the surface.

[Allen Johnson]

i think it might be a 'wet from what' question. If its out in the rain all the time, then yes, thats bad. But as Jeff said, you are replacing the natural oils that are already in green wood, with the linseed. It is easier to work and glue dry wood. Thats why its dried and then oiled, so you can shape it but still have the longevity of 'green' wood'. I dont know a whole lot about it- but I do know that oiled wasters tend to last alot longer than ones that dont....so something right is going on there.