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String Oil in History
By Adam Guggemos
Some people insist on using oil to wipe down strings, but we have not found it to be useful. If you insist on the need to use oil on your gut strings, almond oil is the least detrimental, as it leaves behind little residue and will dry completely — versus something like olive oil or vegetable oil which does not dry completely and can lead to strings becoming gummy, and can also reduce their durability.
Gamut Music does not recommend soaking strings in oil or any other solution as it may cause the material to expand internally and/or break down the bonds within the string.
“Some people wrap their spare strings in bladder or flannel moistened with oil, a process which, even if the oil does not go rancid (as it generally does), can only be characterized as “horrid.” The mess involved in putting on a new greasy string is enough, if you are not of a seraphic disposition (I am not), to make you touchy for the rest of the performance.”
Violin-making, as it Was and Is: Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Science and Art of Violin-making, for the Use of Violin Makers and Players, Amateur and Professional - Edward Heron-Allen. Ward, Lock, & Co./London, 1885
Historically, almond oil and olive oil were recommended in the process of making gut strings, but as one can see, not everything is created equal — even 200 years ago:
“… the fifth work, the smearing can no longer improve the mistake [refers to the too hot drying in the sulfur box]. This must be done with the best oils. But not every oil is suitable for this: no matter how pure and odorless it may be; and in the selection of it the chief cause may be found, why the strings now made are so dry and brittle, and last so little. Only olive oil, with or without almond oil, is suitable for lubricating the gut strings. All vegetable oils, poppy, rapeseed, sunflower, etc., are completely unsuitable for this because of their resinous components, even if they are mixed with olive oil, because they dry out, make the strings brittle, and apart from the unpleasant sounding of the tones, they rob them of all durability.
It should therefore not be useless to draw the attention of the makers of gut strings to this, for if one traces the point in time at which the strings begin to become untenable, one will find that it is the time when the above-mentioned vegetable oils became known to us, and because of its low price it is also sold mixed with olive oil, so that, except in pharmacies, it is almost impossible to get pure olive oil.
This should not be said as if the structure of the oil plants is not desirable, but only that the oil made from them for lubricating the strings is harmful, and not even suitable for lubricating the spinning wheels, as good as it is for dressing and glazing a salad.”
[German] Neues Kunst und Gewerbeblatt 9, 1823 (New Art and Trade Journal, Vol. 9, 1823) - Polytechnic Association for the Kingdom of Bavaria, 1823
Excerpt translated from [German] [PDF] Meisterleistungen Deutscher Instrumentenbaukunst, Bd. 8: Saitenherstellung in Markneukirchen und im Vogtland (Masterpieces of German Instrument Making, Vol. 8: String Production in Markneukirchen and In the Vogtland) - Kai Köpp, Jane Achtman, Johannes Gebauer (editors). Markneukirchen/Bern, 2019