All About Pocket Knives

I recieved and new Queen zebra wood trapper and not happy with the finish they put onto the scales. I'd like to strip it down raw and oil it. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I can use...acitone, sand paper, emery, steel wool? Will the acetone affect the brass liners and nickle shield and bolsters? I would probably need to re buff the metal parts if I use an abrasive, I am thinking. Would buffing the wood and metal parts work okay? I love the knife otherwise. It's just the eurethane finish (I think that's what it is) makes it look cheezey. A flat oil finish would be much more appealing.

Most any abrasive is out of the question. You might try a wood stripper of some sort, it may not etch the metal. Try it on a test piece first to see if it's going to dis-color or etch the soft metals.

I would cover the bolsters with metal tape that the HVAC guys use to tape together heating duct. Then sand the wood carefully with 600 or 800 grit sandpaper to remove the finish.

Acetone should not hurt the brass, but I imagine many of the strippers would damage the brass.

If you do scratch the brass, take the scratches out with finer sandpaper and work it down to 2000 grit sandpaper. Then you should be able to buff it out like new.

I would probably use tung oil or a gun stock oil finish on the wood. Tung oil is not supposed to darken like linseed oil.

If you need to buff out the brass, use the metal tape to cover the wood so the buffer does not take the finish off the wood.

Dale

Wow, thanks Dale. I think I can tape off all metal work just fine.The round shield may be a challenge, and the brass pins. The wood is a little proud along the brass liners where the blades fold into, so if I'm careful, I can miss them. Back side of the knife can be easily taped covering liners and springs. I could not wait for a reply to this situation----earlier today I went to the garage and snatched some acetone to try. It did not budge that finish for anything. Queen builds a sturdy knife. I don't think I am going to worry about the pins, come to think of it. I should be able to polish them up just fine. Anything else you can share would be appreciated.

Paul

Paul,
Here is a link to the abrasive sheets aka; "polishing paper" I use. K&G has them as well as Jantz.
http://www.knifeandgun.com/ProductDetai ... Code=3MPS1

It cuts differently than regular sand paper.
Start at 400 or 600 and even if you hit the brass or shield, it is not a big deal as it doesn't remove a lot of metal. In fact if you use it all the way up to 8000 grit, you probably won't need to buff it unless you are as picky as I am.

This stuff is fantastic!

400 or 600 should remove the finish from the wood with a bit of work and not muss the bolsters beyond what you can buff out or polish out with the finer paper.

Dale

Hello Dale, I taped the brass and bolsters, started with 400 and worked up to 1500. Looks great, like wood should on a knife. The shield could use a finer material. The polishing paper will be my choice and I am sure it will turn out beautifully.
Next will be oil and a somewhat labored dicision as to which kind. I am not going to go beyond what you suggested. Question is, do I want a darker affect with lindseed? I like dark wood against nickle bolsters.
I'll see if I can post a picture or two when I get done. Thanks again, Dale.

Paul

One little thing about linseed oil is that it remains tacky (or at least some of it does) which is why they used to use it for a lot of applications that were exposed to the weather, IIRC.
So, ........your handle could remain tacky. I would consult someone at a paint store before using the linseed oil, were it me.

Dale

I use linseed all the time (boiled) it will not remain tacky, apply it, let it sit for about 5 minutes then rub dry with a soft cloth or paper towel.the wood soaks the oil up, you do not leave it laying on the surface to dry or it will get tacky and look and feel like crap. I usually do this twice a day for a week on projects that I have time to do it on and by the end of the treatment you have a nice water resistant handle that feels nice and looks just as good as it feels.

Thanks Kaleb for the update.
Is it the raw linseed oil that doesn't dry completely?
I recall there being an issue with one of the types of linseed oil about not drying.

Dale

Thanks Dale and Kaleb for your feedback. Here's one that might make you laugh--when you say "boiled" linseed oil, does that mean literally? Do I boil it? I know I can buy it off the shelf that says "boiled" on the can. Does this mean I apply this product cold?

Paul

don't know, never used the raw stuff.

no, boiled linseed oil is just what it's called you don't boil it, apply it straight from the can

Okay, I have pictures of my refinished Queen Curley Zebra Trapper. I turned out GREAT!!!! It is done the way wood should look---oil finished. One problem---someone tell me how to attach pictures. I'll give it a shot here. I'll go out and come back in to see if they posted properly.

WOW!! That does look nice. Congratulations on a job well done.

That looks GREAT Paul!
What kind of oil did you use on it?

Thanks for posting the pics.
It sure looks good.

Dale

The oil used was boiled linseed, three coats with 24 hrs between for drying. With all the different methods for applying oil finishes I decided to just keep it simple. But what an interesting project with lessons learned: 1, I wasn't sure how the oil would take to polished wood at the toon of 8000 grit, so I cut a couple of trial pieces from walnut and used the flats for different grits, 1500 and 8000. I also wanted to find out about any difference between "straight from the can" oil and an equal part dilusion with mineral spirits (sorry Kaleb, I had to deviate because of directions on the can and with so many brands and proprietary blends out there to choose from). I ended up choosing the equal part blend because it seemed to take to the wood a bit darker and I prefer that. I found a small jar with a lid and put in one tablespoon of mineral spirits with one tablespoon of oil, dipped a gloved finger wrapped in a rag and rubbed it into the wood for 5 minutes, wiped it off with a clean rag and flipped the knife over to do the other half. 2, in the end I was limited to use the 8000 grit polishing paper on account of the brass pins. It's pretty hard to isolate the pins from the wood to do two different grits, and therefore did not bother taping off the bolsters for final finishing. Thank you, Dale, for your coaching and thank you Kaleb for yours. It is as much a part of the results as the patience, sandpaper and oil that went into it, without which wouldn't have happened. Good memories in my pocket now.

Why not. Here's more pics. You guys deserve it.