Please help a novice out. :-)

I've read through quite a few posts here (and the excellent maintenance article) but just wanted a quick clarification on the oiling process.

After cutting or handling I'm currently wiping the blade down with a cloth and applying Ballistol, but what I'm not quite sure about is how much oil to 'leave on the blade,' as it were.

The blade (an Albion) had a good deal of oil on it when it arrived (perhaps for transport reasons?), so should I be leaving a good coat on it, or should I simply be coating it and then wiping it off?

It may sound simple, but I needed to ask.

Well, i personally use a soft cloth that i've had for several years (it's quite oil impregnated by now). What I do is give a spay onto the cloth and then wipedown the sword. Whatever oil is left on the sword then stays.
I hope this helps,
Dan

Hi Emmet,

What Dan said sounds quite sound to me. I have heard that excess oil can "stain" the steel but have never seen an example of it. Not a lot of oil is needed to protect the blade though and too much is just messy, so I always go for less rather than more, unless shipping or storing for a long time.

Darren.

Like Dan I typically use an old rag that's been impregnated with oil over years of use. A simple wipe down after handling is sufficient, unless I'm cleaning the blade after cutting, then a bit more oil isapplied. It doesn't really take much. In fact, I've stopped using oil for routine maintenance and have gone to products like Flitz Gun Wax and Renaissance Wax.

Thank you for the advice gents.

I know there isn't necessarily a 'right' way of doing it, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it 'wrong' (if that makes any kind of sense...).

Old rag with the same can of 3 in 1 oil for at least five years now. Have used McGuire's auto wax to good effect from time to time but that ran out a few years back and I've just stuck with the 3 in 1 since then. Might do something else when it runs out.