Boiled or Raw?

[Shotgun]

What do I treat my new Granfors handle with, boiled linseed oil or raw linseed oil? It seems to me that I've read both but was wondering what the general consesus was on as far as handles go with this group. Also, how often do you coat your axe handles with such a treatment? Once a week, once a month?

 

[Cpl Punishment]

When I asked about doing the handle on my tarwar, I was told that linseed oil penetrates further, but does not dry as fast. The recommendation was to start off with the linseed oil and after the treatments had dried, then do some with boiled linseed oil.

 

[ducatimonster]

Boiled linseed oil uses heavy metal adatives;arsenic,berylium ,cadmium ,lead,etc. to speed up drying.Straight linseed oil would probably stay sticky for months.

 

[Dave_Markowitz]

I would use boiled linseed oil, since it will dry much faster than raw. You could also use tung oil. Put two or three coats on if the axe handle isn't finished, then depending upon how much it's exposed to the elements, maybe a couple times a season.

 

[FoxholeAtheist]

What I remember reading when I was looking at the same product for the same reason is that the boiled oil will harden more into a surface finish, while the raw oil will soak in more. I coated my Mini and Scandi Forest in the raw, let them sit for a few days, then wiped the outside with some rags. Not sticky at all.

Keep in mind that linseed oil on rags can spontaneously combust... be careful how you store/toss them.

 

[j. doe]

Why not email the Gransfors people and ask them for their recommendation?

 

[Shotgun]

Why not email the Gransfors people and ask them for their recommendation?

Because that's way too smart. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[gcs]

I only use boiled on all wood handled implements and gun stocks.
For the first coat, thin with turpentine or thinners, soaks in farther. When dry, rub in a coat of plain oil. The boiled WILL dry faster and you can always rub in a new coat whenever you like.

 

[Todd Robbins]

As has been noted, boiled Linseed oil isn't really boiled, it's got chemicals mixed in to make it dry faster. Like gcs, I mix bioled linseed oil 1:1 with turpentine to soak in faster and deeper. A few days later I follow up with a coat of Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil. It is a good surface coat.

Todd