Care and maintenance of handles

L

LakeCo

Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
26
Hello All,

What are some of your methods and tips for cleaning and maintaining handles? Certainly there are a variety of materials...

1. horn
2. jigged bone
3. tortoise shell
4. wood
5. acrylic / cellulose

Any info would be appreciated.
 
Wood you can use something as simple as old English or Teak oil
Warm soap and water goes a long way for basically most items, except tortoise shell, detergents and oil will clog up the pores
Simple search engine took me to that result, good luck
 
LakeCo said:
Hello All,

What are some of your methods and tips for cleaning and maintaining handles? Certainly there are a variety of materials...

1. horn
2. jigged bone
3. tortoise shell
4. wood
5. acrylic / cellulose

Any info would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I'm interested to hear what the pros have to say on this topic.

Currently, I use:

1. Mineral oil
2. Mineral oil
3. I have no authentic tortoiseshell - only acrylic (see #5)
4. Mineral oil
5. Acrylic: Mineral oil (Celluloid I store separately and kinda just check on periodically to make sure they're not setting themselves on fire...)

Also, I've done quite a bit of research but am still foggy on why mineral oil might not be a good choice for certain materials. If you've got specific info along those lines, I'd be quite interested in the background information. Thanks.
 
And here's that information:
Mineral oil softens wood, stag and bone. Mineral oil will do nothing for tortoise shell, acrylic, celluloid or horn. Tortoise shell doesn't have pores.
As I said- use paste wax.
I guess I'm a pro. A bunch of knife manufacturers think I am.
 
Yeah, the "Mineral" in Mineral Oil is coal. Mineral oil is a petroleum product and I can see how it could soften wood just as too much gun oil can soften a wood stock in spots. I think products based on Bees Wax might be a better choice - that's what I'm trying now.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
And here's that information:
Mineral oil softens wood, stag and bone. Mineral oil will do nothing for tortoise shell, acrylic, celluloid or horn. Tortoise shell doesn't have pores.
As I said- use paste wax.
I guess I'm a pro. A bunch of knife manufacturers think I am.
Click to expand...
Are you a fan of Renaissance Wax for said materials, plus steel? It's a paste wax, and what I own, just curious if you had a certain paste wax you liked or disliked.

Edit: Reason why I ask is I have a carbon damascus blade that has had a strange rust spotting issue just from being on a clean dry shelf next to my computer. It's quality Nichols damascus too. But I Ren Waxed it and the pin prick spots still come back unless I keep it well oiled. I know this thread is for handle materials, but just curious if you had a preference for a certain paste wax that'd work good for the handle and steel.
 
Try your hand at French polishing on wood. Shellac and alcohol. But the shellac is in clumps. Certain kind of rag. Pianos, coffins, furniture, gun stocks, and knife grips. I've done a few rifle stocks.

You can sit back, all day, with a nice and relaxing, French polishing.
 
LimpCroissant said:
Are you a fan of Renaissance Wax for said materials, plus steel? It's a paste wax, and what I own, just curious if you had a certain paste wax you liked or disliked.

Edit: Reason why I ask is I have a carbon damascus blade that has had a strange rust spotting issue just from being on a clean dry shelf next to my computer. It's quality Nichols damascus too. But I Ren Waxed it and the pin prick spots still come back unless I keep it well oiled. I know this thread is for handle materials, but just curious if you had a preference for a certain paste wax that'd work good for the handle and steel.
Click to expand...
I'm not a big fan of Renaissance Wax. I use Johnson's Paste Wax, but it's no longer available. Neutral paste shoe polish works well, too.
I prefer oil for blades.
 
Bill DeShivs Bill DeShivs Alright thank you. Yea I bought a small thing of Renaissance Wax, which was pretty expensive, and I'm not sure that I'm a huge fan of it either. Alright, I got my sights on some standard Kiwi neutral shoe polish, or maybe I'll try to see what was in Johnson's Paste Wax and get something with the same ingredients. I appreciate it.
 
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