Wood handle finishes

[muskrat man]

What types of handle finishes do you guys use? I have used several, but have a couple that I prefer. dark dense woods usually get a couple coats of handrubbed boiled linseed oil and then a good polish on a loose wheel. Lighter woods like maple, myrtle, ash ect. usually get polished down to ooo steel wool and up to 8 coats of handrubbed boiled linseed oil and then get about 4-6 coats of paste wax. I am experiemtning with some mixtures that I'm getting good results from. I have tried the superglue coating, but it is just too big of a pain for me to continue using it, it's very messy and causes problems with the mechanics of the knife if it gets wherever it isn't supposed to be, but boy does it shine up! looks like glass if done right, but marrs easily-good for display knives though. so, what do you use? I've been thinking of trying some of that danish furniture oil or something like that, i've seen very nice handles finished with that, looks like it done a better job than linseed oil.

[Diligence]

Have you tried doing any of your own quasi-stabilizing. I say "quasi" because I don't think the DIY work is as good as the pro's can get.

I'm just about to experiment with this myself and read tons of good info on BF about it.

I hear that the material shines up really nice after it has been totally impregnated with the poly or hardener, or whatever chemical you choose to use.

Before this, I have just used sandpaper/ steel wool with either Danish oil, poly or just plain with no finish.

J

[orvet]

For softer woods I often use polyurethane.

For dense oily woods in the rosewood family like Cocobolo I often use a product called Howard's Feed-N-Wax (which contain bee's wax, carnauba wax & orange oil). I use two or three coats rubbed in and then I use a carnauba wax (bar form), buffed in with a medium buff. I polish it with a loose buff. I should say though that I have first sanded the wood to at least 1000 grit, but usually to 2000 grit. The fine sanding along with the waxes really makes a nice finish.

There is one finish I have used on rosewoods that will dry (polyurethane won't dry on Cocobolo because of the oil content in the wood). A fellow at an exotic wood store gave me the recipe; 1 part boiled linseed oil, 1 part turpentine, and 1 part polyurethane. It will work on some of the oiler woods, but still isn't great on extremely oily Cocobolos, like Panamanian Cocobolo. It does penetrate the softer woods better because the turpentine acts as a vehicle to carry the finish deeper into the wood. The boiled linseed oil actually hardens the wood, I am told.

Another finish I have been experimenting with lately is a Swedish or Danish hardwood floor finish. It is close to $100 per gallon, but I got a pint from my son who is a hardwood floor installer. I did a knife recently in Brazilian Cherry wood and finished the wood with the floor finish. It looked great, but after about a month in my pocket with change and keys there is some marring of the finish.......... go figure!

Dale

[El Lobo]

Hey Dale,

I mentioned Howard's in another thread here somewhere, as it is good stuff. I first used it on my walking stick, then on anything wood. Nice to hear someone else, with your skill with wood, uses it as well.

Bill

[Hukk]

I also use Howards on Cocobolo, Kingwood, and Thuya Burl, anything with a lot of oil in it, Camphor and Cinnamon burls also (love working with some of these, they smell so great ). I too use carnuba wax in a bar form, but I am looking at using a brand of auto wax from Walmart or some similar store. I believe it was called Mother's. I will have to check another forum to be sure of the brand.

I just picked up some Manzanita burl from an ebay seller (itsaburl) in Oregon. Looks to be light, dry, and dense. I may look into having that stabilized because burls typically have checks and voids in them. I also use regular Tung oil and Danish oil, fairly inexpensive at Home Depot; these aren't the ones for hardwood floors.

I am going to try the Garesol that Jeff mentioned in another thread on a knife with Claro Walnut scales. I also used a 1/4 inch walnut dowel for pins, but I think the end grain of the dowel may show up darker than the rest of the wood. I need to wait until the weather warms up a bit, possibly this weekend. Beware of using silicon carbide of other fine black grit sandpaper on Claro Walnut. The wood, especially on burl, will pick up the fine black grit and will darken, the pores in the wood will trap the sandpaper paritcles. I usually use Norton to 400 and then raise the grain with water and use steel wool after that.

I am going to be experimenting the do it yourself wood stabilizing, in the long term. Some guys have gotten it down with good results.

[orvet]

I grew up in Southern Oregon and we burned a lot of Manzanita for firewood. It burns hotter than oak, lasts as long or longer and has very little ash. It is very dense & heavy, especially when green.

I think it might have quite a bit of oil, at least for something from North America. I wish I had kept a few pieces now!

Dale

[Hukk]

Check these out.
http://stores.ebay.com/Its-a-Burl_Manza ... idZ2QQtZkm
They have some mighty good looking burl, I will see how they cut up for knife handles today.
The number of handles will be limited due to the odd shapes.

[orvet]

Those look good. I think I will check at Gilmer Wood next time I am in Portland. That way I won't have to pay shipping. I will be within 3 miles of there next Wednesday when I go see the doctor at the VA Hospital.
I would rather poke around and look at the pieces before I buy them. Pictures can only show you so much.

Dale