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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 02-15-2010, 11:25 AM
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squigly1965 squigly1965 is offline
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Handle finishing help

Ok well the last couple knives I've made. I've put Teak oil on the handles
The thing I'm worried about is longevity. I read the Oil finishes don't have much of it or wear resistance and eventually allow the wood to oxidize unless well maintained.
I've been working with Burls and I really like the look I get with the oil is there a way to get the same look with a more durable finish.

I did a search and couldn't find much at all. If there is info please list terms to search for.


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Chris
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Old 02-15-2010, 02:50 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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No matter what kind of finish you put on a wood handle, sooner or later it will wear off if the knife is used enough or if the weather gets to it enough. If longevity is your goal then using professionally stabilized wood is the answer. The finish is not on the wood, it's in the wood - all the way through it. Finishing requires only buffing a little after the sanding is done. It is more weather resistant than any kind of topical finish and, it it gets dull after a while, all it needs is rebuffing to bring it back to show room finish.

The really good news is that since you like burl woods, professionally stabilized burl woods are much more durable than unstabilized burls and you can expect to usually find all the voids already filled.

Take note here that I am talking about professionally stabilized wood - this pretty much means wood from WSSI or K&G - and not anything else from any other source . These have a proven track record, anything else is likely to be less effective ....


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Old 02-15-2010, 05:12 PM
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NJStricker NJStricker is offline
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Oil finishes have terrific wear resistance. Hundreds of years of gun stocks proves that. So do hundreds, if not thousands of years, of furniture.

Compared to a stabilized wood, yes, the comparison is poor.
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Old 02-16-2010, 02:21 PM
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Alan L Alan L is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Armory414 View Post
Oil finishes have terrific wear resistance. Hundreds of years of gun stocks proves that. So do hundreds, if not thousands of years, of furniture.

Compared to a stabilized wood, yes, the comparison is poor.
Yeah, but if I'm gonna use a plastic handle, I'll use plastic. I just don't like the look or feel of stabilized wood, but I recognize I'm in the minority on that.

A good polymerizing oil finish such as boiled linseed oil does take a while to do properly, but it'll last quite a long time with a minimum of care. A coat of car wax after a few months of aging will keep it looking new for a couple of years as well.

Teak oil is not a drying/polymerizing oil, by the way. Tung oil is. Danish oil is thinned tung oil with hardeners added, "boiled" linseed oil is similar, and Tru-Oil is a linseed-based varnish oil that stands up well if you want a gloss finish. Tried-and True brand linseed oil varnish is probably the best of the traditionally formulated oil finishes out there, and is totally nontoxic if you worry about that.
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Old 02-16-2010, 08:35 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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It would depend on the wood that you are using. Very dense, oily woods are pretty stable as they are and a fine sanding and a buff are all they need. WSSI and K&G won't even attempt to stabilize these woods because the polymers won't penitrate. Soft woods, spalted woods, probably most burles need professional handling as done by the above outfits. Probably most of the hardwoods will do fine with a good hardening oil (boiled linseed, tung, Danish oils). You have to know the wood that you are using.

Doug Lester


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Old 02-16-2010, 08:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan L View Post
Yeah, but if I'm gonna use a plastic handle, I'll use plastic. I just don't like the look or feel of stabilized wood, but I recognize I'm in the minority on that.

A good polymerizing oil finish such as boiled linseed oil does take a while to do properly, but it'll last quite a long time with a minimum of care. A coat of car wax after a few months of aging will keep it looking new for a couple of years as well.

Teak oil is not a drying/polymerizing oil, by the way. Tung oil is. Danish oil is thinned tung oil with hardeners added, "boiled" linseed oil is similar, and Tru-Oil is a linseed-based varnish oil that stands up well if you want a gloss finish. Tried-and True brand linseed oil varnish is probably the best of the traditionally formulated oil finishes out there, and is totally nontoxic if you worry about that.
But if it's toxic it works better. Right? ....LOL J/K though sometimes it's true

I purchased some Nelsonite about a gallon of it. I'll see how that works out. Anyone with any experience with it?

Thank you all by the way for the info.

I was looking at the BLO. But I went to Home Depot and and well I tried to get help because I'm a newb and they sent some 18 yo kid who started reading labels for me. Well i can do that. So i sent him away and decided on the Teak oil. I was working on Maple Burl, Curly Walnut, and Orange Osage. Thought they were "hard" woods so that's what I went with. Definitely planning pick up some BLO though

Would BLO be a cure-all so to speak. Rather general purpose oil?
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Old 02-17-2010, 08:10 AM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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I used Nelsonite on some of the sticks of wood that I bought early on. It was applied by soaking in the wood in it for several days without any vacuum. It did seem to penitrate all the way through on the few pieces that I have used for handles. It takes weeks for the Nelsonite to gas out of the wood and, until that happens, the wood stinks. I found that boiled linseed oil works just as well, costs less, is more stable after opening the container, smells better, and "cures" faster. Nelsonite will also not harden soft woods. It does not seem to change the appearance of the wood as much as some of the other products.

Pool cue makes seem to like it to keep cues from warping so it must be good at stabilizing solid woods. I would say that it is definantly worth a try. Be aware that to store it long periods of time that you need to keep air away from it. This means that you will either have to displace the air in the storage container with inert gas or find another way to displace the air.

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Old 02-17-2010, 09:26 AM
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squigly,

For maple, walnut, osage, and other domestic hardwoods, I use Tru-oil. A small bottle from Wal-Mart sporting goods section or your local gun shop will run around $4, and will last you for many, many knife handles.

Nathan
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Old 02-17-2010, 09:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squigly1965 View Post
But if it's toxic it works better. Right? ....LOL J/K though sometimes it's true
Well, the hardware store BLO has cobalt carbonate (and traditionally had lead carbonate) in it as a drier, is that toxic enough for you?

Quote:
Would BLO be a cure-all so to speak. Rather general purpose oil?

I use it on almost everything I make, which usually means curly maple, hickory, walnut, ash, and oak. You don't need a big can. I've done maybe 200 hawk handles, four gunstocks, one pistol stock, several shovel handles (don't ask), a big pile of knife handles, and uncountable little wooden doohickeys all from one one-quart can I bought in 1995. That can's down to the dregs now, and I've been playing with the Tried-and-True brand varnish oil lately. It's really good as well, and is actually boiled rather than just dosed with metallic salts. It seems to take longer to cure, but you can drink it if you feel so inclined and you won't die from the experience.


Tru-oil is very good too, and is based on linseed oil with added polymerizers so it dries faster and has a shinier finish. You can rub it out to a satin or matte look, or you can flow it on to make a plasticky-looking deep gloss. Plus it smells really good because of the extra solvents...
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Old 02-18-2010, 07:56 PM
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Here's my 2 cents. Burls tend to separate and crack over time unless (as Ray said) are professionally stabilized. In the late 80's / early 90's stabilizing made it possible to use woods that were not often used as handles. Burls were one of those woods.


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Old 02-19-2010, 10:41 AM
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Alrighty well I finally was able to check out the Tried&True site. And it's my understanding, the three products are all BLO. I'm leaning towards the Varnish or the Original.

Anyone have any tips on giving the grain depth? I'm currently doing some Maple Burl handles and a couple spots I get the Fiberlike shimmer and depth but most of it looks rather plain. almost like a drawn on pattern.
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Old 02-19-2010, 12:18 PM
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Try this.

Sand to 400 grit.

Wet the surface with a damp cloth to raise the grain, and let dry.

Sand with 400 again, followed by 0000 steel wool. Then, burnish with coarse cloth, like a piece of old denim jeans.

Then apply your finish.
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Old 02-19-2010, 12:39 PM
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Okey Dokey. I'll give it a try

thanks
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Old 02-19-2010, 09:30 PM
kvistads kvistads is offline
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Boiled linseed oil. What do you think preserved those fine long rifles stocked in curly maple all those years? They made the hickory ram rods almost impervious to breaking by soaking them in it for months. Once cured, they are almost indestructible and very flexible. It does the job - period.


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Old 02-19-2010, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by kvistads View Post
Boiled linseed oil. What do you think preserved those fine long rifles stocked in curly maple all those years? They made the hickory ram rods almost impervious to breaking by soaking them in it for months. Once cured, they are almost indestructible and very flexible. It does the job - period.
alright Bro, alright. Just don't hit me
BLO is the Bomb-Diggitty I get it......LOL

I will conform to the use of BLO. I'm gonna use BLO cuz all the cool kids use it. ah man this is bad humor :
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