New project... Results!

[Eelephant]

Pic 1) original knife

Pics 2-4) final result.

Turned out pretty well, I’d say. My pinwork is still sloppy as hell (especially the spring pin), but whatever...

Question, tho, if you look real close you can see all the little grain air pockets/slits in the wood, know what I mean? How does one avoid that? Is that because the wood hasn’t been “stabilized”? Would that have filled those “slits”?

Anyway, thanks for looking, all!

[Colonel26]

Pic 1) original knife

Pics 2-4) final result.

Turned out pretty well, I’d say. My pinwork is still sloppy as hell (especially the spring pin), but whatever...

Question, tho, if you look real close you can see all the little grain air pockets/slits in the wood, know what I mean? How does one avoid that? Is that because the wood hasn’t been “stabilized”? Would that have filled those “slits”?

Anyway, thanks for looking, all!

Your work looks great to me!

The “air pockets” you’re referring to are the pores in the wood. All wood had pores, some more than others, some bigger than others.

Pores can absolutely be filled. One way is by wet sanding the wood with something like boiled linseed oil (BLO) and a real fine sand paper. Once a slurry of fine saw dust and oil have built up on top of the wood, wipe it off ACROSS the grain to fill the pores then let it dry. You may have to do this a few times on exceptionally porous wood.

Old gun stock makers used to use powdered pumice. A few drops of BLO and some pumice sprinkled on to the wood and rubbed in, then wiped off across the grain. You can also use some stains. There are many ways to do it, it just depends on the look you’re after.

[Eelephant]

Pic 1) original knife

Pics 2-4) final result.

Turned out pretty well, I’d say. My pinwork is still sloppy as hell (especially the spring pin), but whatever...

Question, tho, if you look real close you can see all the little grain air pockets/slits in the wood, know what I mean? How does one avoid that? Is that because the wood hasn’t been “stabilized”? Would that have filled those “slits”?

Anyway, thanks for looking, all!

Your work looks great to me!

The “air pockets” you’re referring to are the pores in the wood. All wood had pores, some more than others, some bigger than others.

Pores can absolutely be filled. One way is by wet sanding the wood with something like boiled linseed oil (BLO) and a real fine sand paper. Once a slurry of fine saw dust and oil have built up on top of the wood, wipe it off ACROSS the grain to fill the pores then let it dry. You may have to do this a few times on exceptionally porous wood.

Old gun stock makers used to use powdered pumice. A few drops of BLO and some pumice sprinkled on to the wood and rubbed in, then wiped off across the grain. You can also use some stains. There are many ways to do it, it just depends on the look you’re after.

Thank you very much for the tips. As you can tell, I don’t know much about wood properties and such,.

[Beavertail]

You might not know all there is about wood, but you sure did make a fine looking knife!
I'd be proud to carry it.

[Eelephant]

You might not know all there is about wood, but you sure did make a fine looking knife!
I'd be proud to carry it.

Thank you my friend!

[Nev52]

I think it looks great!! Good job.

Nev

[Reverand]

That looks super!
I have used layers of Tru-Oil to coat wood like that, to fill up those pores. It takes several coats. Though I am not sure how well that would work on Wenge, as it is an oily wood. I know that I would avoid urethane finishes and sealants because of that.
I would probably try the Boiled Linseed Oil as Colonel26 recommended. I used Tru-Oil today on a project, and I had forgotten that I don't like the smell.

[Colonel26]

That looks super!
I have used layers of Tru-Oil to coat wood like that, to fill up those pores. It takes several coats. Though I am not sure how well that would work on Wenge, as it is an oily wood. I know that I would avoid urethane finishes and sealants because of that.
I would probably try the Boiled Linseed Oil as Colonel26 recommended. I used Tru-Oil today on a project, and I had forgotten that I don't like the smell.

I forgot about truoil. That would probably work too, it’s just a BLO base with some finish and extra dryers in it.

A friend of mine who redoes gunstocks thins truoil with mineral spirits, about 50/50. He puts two or three of those thinned coats on to fill the pores just like you said. Once he gets it filled and sealed he finishes it off with LOTS of layers of straight BLO. It takes time, but he ends up with some NICE gunstocks.

[Colonel26]

You might not know all there is about wood, but you sure did make a fine looking knife!
I'd be proud to carry it.

Thank you my friend!

I’ll second that. The knife is fantastic.

[glennbad]

That's dang sexy!

[Mumbleypeg]

I’ve not tried the methods mentioned above, but I have finished open-grain woods like oak, walnut, etc. using a product called wood grain filler. (Not to be confused with wood filler). Some woods have more open grain than others but even the most dense woods have pores. Some like oak have larger pores that need to be filled, else the finish will not be smooth. Just use your search engine and search for “wood grain filler” to learn more about it, and how to apply it. You can buy it at your local hardware or paint store.

Ken

[ea42]

Wenge is probably one of the worst woods out there as far as open grain. More dense woods like the ebonies, ironwoods, some rosewoods, etc don't show it nearly as much. For the wenge I make some fine sawdust out of the same wood and then rub it into the grain going across the grain, not with it. (I do this before the final sanding). Then apply some drops of liquid cyanoacrylate glue on the dusted grain. I'll even add a few sprinkles over those drops so it's a bit proud. You don't have to be neat as it's going to be sanded off anyway. Let it dry overnight before you sand it. Even though it's "dry" within seconds it takes longer to attain a good solid cure. This method usually smooths away the grain while leaving it invisible since the sawdust is pretty much the same color as the wood.

Eric

[1967redrider]

I like it. Kind of has that Mammoth Bark look to it.

[Meridian_Mike]

Very nice work!!

[orvet]

Nice job!
I like Wedge it is a pretty wood.

[wlf]

Beautiful. Looks like some kind of acrylic or cell.

[zed6309]

Awesome job

[Dan In MI]

Agreed 100%.

[Lansky1]

Wenge is probably one of the worst woods out there as far as open grain. More dense woods like the ebonies, ironwoods, some rosewoods, etc don't show it nearly as much. For the wenge I make some fine sawdust out of the same wood and then rub it into the grain going across the grain, not with it. (I do this before the final sanding). Then apply some drops of liquid cyanoacrylate glue on the dusted grain. I'll even add a few sprinkles over those drops so it's a bit proud. You don't have to be neat as it's going to be sanded off anyway. Let it dry overnight before you sand it. Even though it's "dry" within seconds it takes longer to attain a good solid cure. This method usually smooths away the grain while leaving it invisible since the sawdust is pretty much the same color as the wood.

Eric

Eric - nicely put. I like Wenge alot - it's very hard, but it and zebrawood seem to have the most open grain for the more common exotic hardwoods. My other hobby is building (and shooting) target slingshots - I never tried to fill the grain on wenge, but I might on the next one I build...

PS - Eelephant - your knife restoration looks great !