Where can I find Almonda Oil with vitamin E added? I read on Brad Hurley’s site that the cosmetic grade is preferrable. Checked Wal-Mart to no avail…
thanks!
Eric
Eric, try healthfood stores. That’s where I bought my almond oil. The Vitamin E you add yourself. Just get some Vitamin E capsules; puncture one and drip the contents into the bottle of almond oil and mix thoroughly (Vitamin E is an antioxidant and helps the oil not to go rancid; you should also refrigerate your almond oil for the same reason). I got this recommendation from Patrick Olwell. While there seems to be a preference for the pharmaceutical grade of almond oil because it is more highly refined, I don’t think it is essential and may not be available in the US, though perhaps someone else can suggest a source. Patrick Olwell says the pharmaceutical grade is available in Ireland. I use regular almond oil from the healthfood store and it seems to work great.
Al
me too.
Health food or gourmet food stores. I never used vitamin E and it never went rancid, but YMMV…
As well as health food/organic stores, The Body Shop (bath supplies etc) sells almond oil for moisturizing your fingernails. It is often used as a base for massage oils so check out natural healing and aromatherapy places
(or massage studios if you like 
Try your local health food store. In west central Texas we have Healthy Choice stores. They sell all you need. See if they are in your area.
http://www.healthychoice.com/index.jsp
My best advice, based on numerous flutes and years of experience is use pure linseed oil on the flute externals and almond on the internal. If you have threaded tenons, use melted beeswax on thread. You can’t go wrong with these. Like a good woman, a wooden flute must be respected and well tendered.
Chau,
Tex
Personally, I would suggest looking into Naylor’e Bore Oil. The stuff seems to be REALLY high quality, has the vit. E and, I think, makes my Olwell blackwood look noticeably nicer than just the plain almond oil that I used at first. Larry seems to have done a LOT of practical research on the formulation, and he’s a really nice guy to deal with besides. The oil comes in small bottles, or even pints (to save some money in the long haul). You can check him out at www.naylors-woodwind-repair.com or call him at (303)761-4759 in Denver. He also has a natural cork grease that treats the cork very gently and is supposed to help it last longer. He’s been doing instrument repair for decades and seems to know the business very well.
For the record, this is what i use now:
http://www.doctorsprod.com/BoreDr.html
I used almond for a few years, but i always felt i had to re-oil the flute too often, because most of the oil came out when i swabbed.
Despite the “refugee from the 1960s” look of that site, i trust Dr. Omar Henderson. He’s a top scientist in his field in the US and a well known amateur clarinet player. Very nice guy too. His oil is like the “bore oils” sold in music stores in that it will stay on the wood longer than almond, but it’s not petroleum based, and doesn’t have that awful smell or toxicity, which makes sense to me, since i’m putting my mouth where my oil goes.
I also use his cork greases.
But almond oil is safe, won’t harm your flute, so if you haven’t decided to make the jump to semi-drying or drying (linseed) oils, almond is a good thing to use. Olive (extra virgin) works well too, especially if you like pizza. Another option still is grapeseed oil, which is also found in gourmet or “health” (i.e. expensive) food stores.
g
Thanks for the replies!!
I will continue looking. Right now Im not at home but doing the holiday thing with parents and all and since this is a small, south Georgia town and all, I get responses like: “What’s that?” “Sorry, we dont sell that here” “Oh yeah, well I know what youre talking about now. No, we dont have any”
I’ll second the recommendations both for Doctor’s Products bore oil (and cork grease), and for grapeseed. Grapeseed and almond make a nice mixture, too, for oiling.
One nice thing about the Doctor’s Products oil is that it’s a little lighter-feeling than pure almond. When you wash your hands after oiling, they get clean. And, it does seem to stay on the instrument for a while. I think the best thing for keeping a shine is his (Doctor’s) woodwind wax, which lets you buff the outside to a nice, durable shine.
Stuart
A small Georgia town will still have Canola oil, used for cooking. In early-flute, European texts, the oil is called rape-seed oil, but it’s the same oil. I am using almond, myself, on my boxwood. I haven’t tried canola, but it was the most common oil used in the late 18th c., according to Tromlitz, who thought it was the perfect thickness/thinness over the other oils, flaxseed and almond. It was also the cheapest available; may be a connection there, too…
Raw linseed (flaxseed) is tricky, as it can congeal if put on too thick. Bore oils in music stores are often perfect, as well, if you’re not a vegetable-origin purist. Selmer makes a tasteless, odorless oil that is pure mineral oil, which has no petroleum flavor, smell or taste, and works really well – I only stopped using it because I like to go with the makers’ opinion, and most seem to stick with almond. Certainly can’t hurt, unlike some other oils.
Gordon
… but strangely costs a lot more than mineral oil, doesn’t it?
As Gordon said, Canola should be a good choice too. So they don’t have expensive food stores where you are? Lucky you!
g
Yes, it’s rather absurd; the self-same mineral oil can be found at a pharmacy in pint containers for the same price as a small 4 ounce (or so) bottle in a music store.
As for expensive food stores, are you talking to me? (Pacino-style voice optional).
You won’t find food much more expensive anywhere than the Yupper Westside in Manhattan, but canola oil still doesn’t cost much, relatively speaking, and it has Wesson-ality. Not sure that anyone’s gonna need the quantity of oil that is sold in a food store, but you can cook with it as well, so it shouldn’t go to waste…
Gordon
That’s one of the nice things about grapeseed oil. Grapeseed is really hip for the whole-foods crowd . . . it’s even better for you than olive oil. And it doesn’t taste funny; as a matter of fact, it’s nearly tasteless. And it burns at a very high temperature, so you can stir-fry with it and it doesn’t get all smokey.
Cooking with almond oil is nice, too. Actually, adding the vitamin E to it is more to prevent your bottle from becoming rancid than it is to keep it from spoiling on the flute. Try almond or grapeseed for cooking, and use the one you like on your flute. Then you’ll know your supply is always fresh.
Stuart
“Sweet” almond oil is the best I think, not the cooking variety. I bought mine from the local pharmacy. Call around, I’m sure you’ll find the drug stores have some in the back somewhere, or order some at http://www.woodlandnut.com/almond.html
Then, I take it Lorezo’s Oil is almond. . .
Stuart
it took me a few minutes…I haven’t been to the movies for a while but that one did ring a bell. 
Most Aromatherapists use it and can supply you with some. Beware though that some players have nut allergy and can react from it if in contact with the flute. I have nut allergy and use Lemon oil for cleaning recorders,
I got an interesting tip from B. Howard who suggested that i use Bicycle oil instead of almond oil. The particular problem that i was experiencing was that the accumulation of large water droplets that collected inside the flute. These had become over large in places and effected the tuning and performance of the flute. (I am a very wet blower)
I thought that he was kidding me but i tried it myself and it definelty does work. The water droplets are considerably smaller and i have been using it ever since on my own flutes. I have not experienced any problems since. It also lasts longer that almond oil.
all the best
John
The question, of course, to most of us, is what is bicycle oil?
My guess is that it’s a petroleum-based oil. For reasons both karmic and scientific, most here refuse to wipe petroleum distillates on their flutes. Pure mineral oil is the least offensive and most widely used, and probably the most effective moisture barrier. The problem with other petroleum based oils are impurities that a) might effect your health, and b) might be slowly eating away at the wood. Mineral oil won’t do that, at least not in your lifetime, but still most of us prefer a vegetable-based oil.
The best barrier oil I know is raw linseed, which hardens over time. The drawback there is that a drip inside will congeal, changing the bore dimensions, so, after letting it soak into your flute for a bit, wipe all the excess out, and don’t use it as often as, say, almond.
I’d be curious to know, then, what’s in bicycle oil, but my guess is I wouldn’t want to put it on or in my flute, nor put my lips to it or nostrils near it. I’d suggest a pure mineral oil in your case, or raw linseed.
Gordon