[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Paul, the gandar, and the gambar of a wrongko will absorb the oil that is put onto a blade. In the case of a wrongko that has no pendok, this oil will stain the gandar, and this is considered to be undesirable.

However, it is considered to be desirable, some would say highly desirable, for the gandar that is covered with a pendok to be permeated by the fragrant oil that is applied to the blade.

Wood is a cellulose material, and left in long contact with unprotected ferric material, it will cause rust. If the oil permeates the wood it lessens the rust causing properties of cellulose. In fact, a scabbard of any type of material is far from ideal as the storage place for a blade. In the case of keris, two of the most favoured woods for a wrongko are scented sandalwood and teak, especially burl teak, both these woods have high natural oil content.

I use scented oil on all my South East Asian blades, on keris and other items considered to be tosan aji, because it is considered to be the respectful thing to do, on other blades because I always have the scented oil that I use on keris, close at hand, and it is easier for me to use this than something else.

But I do not store unprotected blades in their scabbards (wrongkos) I oil all my blades and then I place that oiled blade into a plastic sleeve, usually I then store the plastic covered blade in its scabbard, sometimes I do not.

Where the blade itself retains the smell of oil even after it has been thoroughly cleaned, the material from which the blade is made will be found to be open grained and porous.



Albert

Ballistol, and a number of other oils designed for use with firearms do provide very good protection for any object made of ferric material, and that includes edged weapons.

However, when we are dealing with items of tosan aji, that is keris, tombak, pedang and other similar weapons from the Archipelago, it is traditional within these cultures, and most especially so in Jawa, to use scented oils.

For those of us who wish to observe the correct pattern of behaviour in respect of tosan aji, the use of oils other than those deemed to be acceptable within the relevant cultures is not really an option.