Hi All,
I need to find some wintergreen oil for a workshop at Metalwerx. A
local source would be ideal.
Many thanks,
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio
Try drug stores or health food stores.
You can find wintergreen oil at pharmacies, or have them order it
for you.
Rick Hamilton
Hi Karen;
I’ve always found it in the local drugstores, in small bottles.
Mind, though, it’s quite concentrated, enough to cause chemical burns
on delicate skin, and real miserable if you get it in your eyes. If
you get it on your hands, be real careful not to get it on your face
where it can find it’s way into your eyes or burn tender skin. It
spreads around, being a very light and volatile oil. Maybe fewer
places are carrying it, since most people don’t know what to do with
it anymore. Besides as a lubricant for engraving, it can be diluted
with emollients and used to make your own liniment.
David L. Huffman
Hi all,
The search for wintergreen oil has taken on comedic proportions. I
thought I would share the responses I’ve been given.
I have been to three drugstores. CVS, Walgreens and Osco.
“Ahh, we seem to be out of it”.
“What is that?”
“I can order it for you. It will take three weeks”.
I checked the internet and found once source for $3.95. Shipping
was $10.
Someone else found some on the internet and forwarded the URL. It
was $27.95 for 5 oz. Shipping and handling on that one was only $5.
This is becoming funny. LOL What used to be common, is now exotic.
Tomorrow I will walk into an institution which is becoming extinct.
The local pharmacy. Report tomorrow at midnight.
-k
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio
Karen, a local pharmacist should be able to special order
wintergreen oil for you.
It should take only a day or two to arrive at the pharmacy. I hear
great things about your workshops and look forward to attending one
in the near future.
Jazz
I used to get Wintergreen oil at the local pharmacy in NY. I could
not find it in Georgia pharmacies. It can be ordered from the online
aromapathetic essential oil dealers.
You can easily order it online. Just go to Froogle (Google’s product
search). You’ll find lots of options and you’ll be able to compare
prices (and shipping charges).
Beth
Hi Karen,
You have my sympathy. No matter how useful an item may be if it’s
even mildly obscure it won’t make it past purchase control software.
Or worse yet mildly risky. Try buying a tin of lye sometime. Stores
no longer buy to meet the specific needs of real live individual
customers but rather to meet computer-tallied quotas and aggregates;
it’s part and parcel of a homogenization and depersonalizing process
that has - in another manifestation - wiped out the family
restaurant and left the highways dotted with characterless and
identical Denys and Motel Six’s from one coast to the other. Of
course this may constitute an opportunity for those of us who do
make jewelry which is personal and individual.
I look forward to hearing the outcome of The Quest for Wintergreen.
Cheers,
Hans Durstling
Moncton, Canada
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. I was finally able to
locate some at a local pharmacy. Cool old guy, old time pharmacy,
great help. I think I will switch from CVS to there.
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio
Try either a locally owned pharmacy or a hospital pharmacy. I found
a local hospital pharmacy with a terrific pharmacist who orders, it
seems, daily, and he is willing to track down anything for me.
Perhaps you will have such luck too.
There is a place in Chicago called Merz Apothocary. Try their
website, http://www.smallflower.com.
Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay
Many years ago when I needed some Oil of Wintergreen the only thing
I could find was from a scientific supply store. Bought I a liter,
several lifetimes supply. But, at that time was under $20.00, from
"North West Scientific" in Billings, Montana.
Mark Chapman
Hi Karen,
Another possible source for oil of wintergreen are shops selling
spices & such for cooking. I’ve seen oil of wintergreen in one of
those.
Dave
Hi Karen,
I need to find some wintergreen oil for a workshop at Metalwerx. A local source would be ideal.
Check with a local drug store. If they don’t have it on the shelf,
ask the mgr or pharmacist for it. They may have to order it in for
you, but it’s usually less than a week.
Another source may be a shop that caters to gourmet cooks. I’ve seen
small bottles of it in some of these.
Dave
Hi Karen,
When I took my last engraving course we used olive oil to lubricate
our gravers.
It is not harmful in any way nor does it have a strong odor and
works great!
Laurie
Karen,
Since I ‘know where you live’, LOL, I can tell you that I’ve gotten
the oil at Harnetts in Harvard Square – I bet there are cheaper
resources, but if you need it in a pinch … What are you using it
for? Transfers of some sort?
Cheers,
Tonya Miller
Another possible source for oil of wintergreen are shops selling spices & such for cooking. I've seen oil of wintergreen in one of those.
Wintergreen oil, (methyl salicylate), is an external analgesic which
is often used as a cooling lubricant by goldsmiths. It is a
synthetic oil and is not edible. As was noted by David L. Huffman
it is an irritant to the skin and eyes, and it should be used with
appropriate caution.
The oil of wintergreen which has also been mentioned, as being found
at specialty culinary supply shops, is a natural oil derived from
mint, which is edible. These are two entirely different substances
with confusingly similar names.
Michael David Sturlin
The oil of wintergreen which has also been mentioned, as being found at specialty culinary supply shops, is a natural oil derived from mint, which is edible. These are two entirely different substances with confusingly similar names.
Hi Michael,
Nope, Wintergreen oil is not of the mint family and it’s not edible.
Wintergreen oil is of the Ericaceae family. As I stated in another
post, Wintergreen oil is approximately 98% methyl salicylate.
Wintergreen might be found in culinary shops because it can be used
in candy making (1 drop is plenty for a large batch of hard candy).
I find this disturbing because it leaves an opening for potential
misuse by anyone thinking it’s a safe herbal oil. If anyone ever
has any questions about whether a natural plant oil is potential
harmful, I can recommend several good reference books.
Nancy Stinnett
Geosoul Arts
866-4-90GLASS
To Nancy Stinnett: Thank you for the clarification about the source
of oil of wintergreen, and the advice that it is not edible. I
regret that I was misinformed and posted what turns out to be
erroneous Your correction is much appreciated.
Michael David Sturlin
www.michaeldavidsturlin.com
The oil of wintergreen which has also been mentioned, as being found at specialty culinary supply shops, is a natural oil derived from mint, which is edible.
This is me being nitpicky (gosh, that never happens!), but
wintergreen is actually a member of the heath family (Ericaceae) and
not a mint at all. The true mints belong to a different family, the
Labiatae, and the chemical component that gives them their flavor is
menthol.
These are two entirely different substances with confusingly similar names.
From what I’ve gleaned from Web resources and field guides, methyl
salicylate is the primary flavor component of natural wintergreen.
This is a toxic substance, but apparently only at concentrations not
occurring naturally in the plant, so its leaves and berries are safe
to eat (in quantities within reason) and are frequently used to make
tea. It’s also interesting that most of this “wintergreen” flavor
is now either synthesized or obtained from black birch, which also
naturally produces methyl salicylate. These plants most likely
evolved methyl salicylate production in order to combat herbivores,
which is also why we have caffeine, theobromine (one of the primary
components of chocolate), nicotine, and hot pepper.
…On a completely different side of things, I’ve been wondering
what wintergreen oil can do that another lubricant can’t, besides
smelling good. Would. liquid Bur-Life be a good alternative? I’ve
found it quite handy for things like drawing chain and lubricating,
um, burs.
Cheers,
Jessee Smith
www.silverspotstudio.com
Cincinnati, Ohio