Best finish for Wood Scales??

Keep the suggestions coming gents... I intend to try MANY of the products you've mentioned on some scraps...

I'll post pics of my results of the many options that you are providing.

Thanks for all the input!
 
It may sound low tech, but I have had good results on both wood and horn with a 50/50 mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.
 
I used Formby's Tung Oil on the Desert Iron wood of my new knife. Easy to apply and leaves a light varnish type of finish on the wood, which may or may not be desireable to you.

Update: After handling the knife for awhile the tung Oil quickly began to wear off in spots. I ended up using #0000 steel wool to remove the remaining oil and then used 1500 grit sandpaper to finish it off. I'm now going to try to buff it and then use wax.

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Sand to 1200-1500 grit then rub in teak oil, repeat until the oil doesn't sink in any more then burn in pure Carnuba wax with buffer. For ironwood, oil almost always darkens it w/o adding much, so just sand to 1500 and then buff with a linen wheel with fine rouge and then burn ib the Carnuba wax.

Pure Carnuba wax is so hard that you can't rub it in-it feels like plastic. I get it as a powder from Woodworkers supply: http://woodworker.com/helpdetail.shtml#3 A lb of powder has lasted five years or more with no danger of running out. Put the powder in a small tupperware and float it in a pan of boiling water to melt it into a block.
 
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radius said:
It may sound low tech, but I have had good results on both wood and horn with a 50/50 mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.
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Ditto, well on children's wooden toys anyway, as is completely nontoxic...and brings out a warm glow to the wood.
 
Im not around here much anymore, but I'll tell you that a good clear coat automotive finish looks great and wont hurt the wood. As a side effect, a lot of them have UV Inhibitors as well. my 2 favorites are SPI (southern polyurethanes) Universal clear and Martin Senour (Napa) Cross/fire 15420 clear. Both are reasonably priced as well.
Make sure you wear the appropriate air filtration and protective clothing and gloves. Apply 3 coats, wetsand and buff. Done.
 
Finally finished two new one's (I do the scales/wood/inlay etc. ... not the steel).:)

Thank you all, for the advice on final finishes!:thumbup:

The Damascus is Ironwood with Green Malachite inlay... I lengthened the handle material beyond the frame about an inch. This is buffed and polished only... no other finish.

The larger is Afzelia Burl with White turquoise and green malachite inlay... Mother of Pearl Fish... I used tung oil as a final finish.


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Below is some of my inlay material... Yes, those are buttons... OLD buttons... Mother of pearl in white, pink, orange, gray, etc. Also some buttons of Abalone... The largest white mother of pearl is larger than a silver dollar and about as thick... good stuff!!! And cheap as well!:thumbup:

Hunt those yard sales boys and girls!!!

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Boiled linseed oil reacts with air to harden (and can react with air in a soaked rag vigorously enough to spontaneously ignite). Thick sections will never harden. To apply boiled linseed oil, apply a coat and let it cure for a day or two. Then apply a coat once day for a week for a decent finish. Then apply once a week for a month for a better finish. Then once a month for a year for the best finish. Then once a year for the rest of your life to maintain that finish.

It can be used on doors, decks and fences for water resistance, but it has no UV resistance so it doesn't hold up well in strong sun light. It can be used on dirt floors to seal and harden the soil.

It was used by the US military to seal gunstocks for much of the last century. In an effort to give idle solders something to do, they were given little bottles of the stuff and encouraged to use it to maintain their wood stocked rifles. Given enough coats the old rifles stocks became beautiful furniture.

It is a good finish to use on a working knife, but you need to understand how to apply it. It goes on thin, soaks in for a few minutes, and is mostly wiped off. Thick wet areas will stay soft and sticky forever. Repeat.

Unboiled linseed oil dries very very slowly. Boiled linseed oil cures fast. Modern "boiled" linseed oil is not boiled, it has additives that accomplish the same thing. Those additives are not safe to eat, so it should not be used on children's toys or cutting blocks.
 
I was taught to use 50/50 boiled linseed and paint thiner, by guys who build muzzel loaders and was told that was one of the main finishes used in the old days. I have used it with good results and topped it off with a good hard wax.
 
I have used TRU OIL...which you can get at any Wal Mart. It is easy to apply...and leaves a good solid finish.
There used to be an old saying about TRU Oil..."Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year for life." I have seen an old Savage 99 that was treated this way.After 40 years... It had one of the most Gorgeous finishes you could want...

If I remember it is mostly boiled linseed and stuff to help it dry...I just looked at their site...Mineral Spirits,Modified Oil,Linseed oil.

I love it after a coat of (....oooh dang my memory just went...) is it chromium dioxide?

Oh jeez...somebody help me out...it's the stuff that makes the figuring really pop!

Anyhow...a warm boiled linseed rub is sort of a tradition with the old muzzleloader crowd I used to run with...

If I had to choose a second....the Watco products are good.

Shane
 
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Just as all steel can not be heat treated in the same manor. All woods can not be finished in the same manor. Dense high oil wood like cocabola, rosewood, and ivorywood don't allow a finish to penetrate, so a wax finish works very well on them. porous woods like walnut maple and birch will work well with an oil finish and repeated coats.
mineral sprite's, boiled linseed oil, and spar varnish mixed in equal parts is my favorite old time oil finish.
 
smitty0331 said:
How about polyurethane? Has anyone here ever tried it?
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There are a few problems with polyurethane, but basically it boils down to these three things:

1: it looks crappy
2: it feels crappy
3: once it starts to fail, it looks and feels really crappy

Basically, you're painting your wood in a thin film of clear plastic paint. It is really shiny, just as slick as plastic, and shows chips and scratches just as bad as a painted surface would.

There are good uses for it. It has the best water resistance and it is inexpensive and quick to apply, so it is great for kitchen tables etc, but I wouldn't have it on a gun or knife or musical instrument that should look and feel nice. Just my opinion.
 
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