BLO on an old shovel handle?

steve-in-kville

steve-in-kville

Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,139
I love to garden and I have regular ol' ground shovel that's seen better days. Handle is still solid, but its pretty weathered. Would I be wasting my time by giving it a few coats of BLO??

(Sorry, I couldn't find the sub forum for shovels!!)
 
I found a small shovel in the woods, perfect size for my wife and brought it home. Like yours the handle was a little rough but a couple minutes with some sand paper then, BLO and it turned out fine. Even if it does not work for you how much $$$ is involved with a few coats of BLO? John
 
Any oil is better than no oil. Direct sunlight (UV damage) and humidity (drying out, shrinking and swelling) is mitigated by any sort of coating. Beauty of oils is they slow down any of these, and rubbing on another coat is no biggie. Most folks here are huge fans of BLO (boiled linseed oil) for that purpose but anything (even WD-40) will work.
 
BLO will make any wooden handle far more comfortable & safe to work with & hold.
You might want to give it a light sandpapering first.

I just rehandled a hayfork.
It was misery. I had to scrape off its varnish & oil it. Its a joy now to use.
 
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