I’ve gone from using raw flax oil (flute maker 1’s preference) to almond oil (flute maker 2’s preference), to commercial bore oil, to the Bore Doctor’s woodwind oil, to his new product “Grenadoil” whose formula is based on the oils in grenadilla/blackwood.
I was happy with flax oil, didn’t notice buildup. I was just as happy with almond oil, and it smelled better, and I thought lasted a bit longer before the bore had that raw wood look. Both oils seem to soak in the wood overnight, but I always wiped out the bore in the AM. Commercial bore oil didn’t seem to last long at all.
Then I switched to the Bore Doctor woodwind oil. It seems to soak in faster, and more soaks in because now there is nothing to wipe out, and my method of oiling hasn’t changed in years. It lasts noticeably longer than flax or almond oil, and has antioxidants added so it keeps. I don’t like the smell particularly, but I think it’s the best of these 4 oils.
It made sense to me to use an oil that attempts to duplicate the natural oil of the wood, so I bought some. Have to say that the Grenadoil seems to soak in the best, somehow gives a deeper colour to the wood (it’s not shiny, it just seems like the colour is denser and more opaque), and it lasts, and I don’t notice an odour.
I have no connection with Bore Doctor, and am reporting observations, not experiments. I practice and play the same week to week, and all of the oils have been used for months, so I think others would have similar results.
Thanks for the review of this oil, Hugh-I’ve wondered about it since reading of it on the Dr’s website. It sounds promising, and knowing the science is behind it like most of the Dr’s products, it makes perfect sense for Blackwood flutes. I’ll probably try it next time I order some of his cork grease again. Until then, I’ll still use the flaxseed oil, as it seems to be better (to me) than almond for staying on, or in the wood.
I’m still convinced though that the raw flaxseed (linseed) is one of the best for Boxwood flutes-it really seems to put a nice layer of protection on them, and it feels very silky to the touch afterwards-and I haven’t had any problem with finger or lip stains on the Boxwood using raw flaxseed oil, so I’ll continue to use that over almond oil.
Hugh, I’m just curious - Are these new flutes you are oiling, that lose sheen so easily, or soak up oil so readily, even in their bores?
Blackwood flutes, in my experience, barely suck up oil at all, and - if played regularly - their bores rarely look dry… this is less true of some other woods, like cocus or boxwood, but - once broken in, all the blackwood flutes I’ve ever had go for very long periods without the need for oil at all, to no detriment; a nice oil sheen certainly perks them up, visually, possibly cleans them, but all this fascination with the perfect, and priciest, oil?
When I collected a flute off Sam Murray ten months ago, he replied to my question about oiling: ‘Don’t. Play it a lot and creatively neglect it. There’s enough oil in Blackwood to keep it’. The flute is fine and nicely played in by now, without any oiling since.
Sam did say there’s no oil in timbers like Box so you do need to oil those all the time.
Bryan Byrne is another who suggests not oiling. For me, when the blackwood in the bore looks brown, not black, and the surface doesn’t reflect light, I find that when I put oil on, it disappears, which I take to mean is absorbed. Afterwards it looks black again, smoother, and reflects a bit of light. Except around the embouchure, the outside rarely needs oiling, which suggests to me that all that condensation in the bore does remove oil.
Having said that, I have a friend with a 20 year old blackwood flute that she has never oiled, and it looks fine, and looking at it, I wouldn’t be oiling it either.
My traversos are 20 years old, and they need oiling about once a year. My Watson is 6 months old, and I am still oiling it every couple of weeks, but I practice with it for 1-1.5 hours every day, and play in 3 sessions a week. My Aebi is almost two years old, and I oil it about every 6-8 weeks, but then I don’t play it as much. So I oil when the bore is distinctly brown, not by a schedule.
My take is that the flute tells you when it is time to oil. So if your flute is telling you “Don’t bother oiling me”, then no worries.
I agree that boxwood is an oil hog.
Gordon kindly asks if I am fascinated with the perfect oil. Well, I am certainly a science nerd, but I’ll let others apply labels about where I am on the path (slippery slope?) from curious to obsessive.