Carved AK now home: How should I finish the handle?

philthygeezer

philthygeezer

Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
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Today, I had a semi-erotic encounter involving a smiling woman, a towel and a khukuri!

I was in the shower when the doorbell rang, and somehow I just knew that my baby was here... So I leapt out, threw a towel on and headed for the front door. The femailman was a little shocked, but in a highly entertained, intrigued sort of fashion. I could tell she was checking me out... :cool: :D

Anyway, this one is absolutely amazing. The carving on the handle is intricate and I really like the silver bolsters as well. I will take before and after pics.

The question is how do I finish it without having to sand it? The idea of sanding this beautiful carving makes my skin crawl. I have read most of the questions on finishing and I am now thinking of doing the following:

I will pick up a can of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil and apply it with a firm toothbrush so it penetrates everywhere into the carved handle. Then I will wait for it to dry and do the same again as many times as it needs it. Then perhaps I will cap the finish with Tru-oil aerosol, or perhaps Renaissance wax? What about the carnauba stuff? I need to make this as easy as possible and still get excellent results. If I have to do it slow and methodical then that's OK since I am going to be real careful with this one.

This is only the second time I will put a finish on a wood anything in my life. The first was in grade 7 shop class with a block of wood for a pen holder.

So any tips would be received with many thanks,
Phil
 
Phil -
"Easy" and "Good Results" don't go together on a carved handle. I've done a couple, and their scabbards, with good results, but it is painstaking. Forget sanding. First, knock out any debris and buffing compound with Murphys Oil Soap and a soft toothbrush. If the buffing compound is heavy, it can be dug out with a round toothpick after it is softened, but gently, as the soap will also soften the wood until it has dried. Some of the leaf points, etc., can be broken easily. Wet buffing compound is like red dye - work with it in old clothes, and where your wife won't know who left the stains :rolleyes:

When everything is cleaned out, fold a corner on a steel wool pad and smooth all of the flat surfaces (leaves, large stems, etc.). I put the oil on with a fingertip, and use a soft toothbrush to spread it in the narrow areas, and on stippled backgrounds. It takes a while, but the results are as good as your patience allows them to be. Depending on the wood, you can wind up with grain figures on the flats, sometimes with some movement in them, and a nice darker contrast in the stippled background. Cut down on your coffee intake - it can be nervewracking. Like the guys in the mountainous states say, "If you could flatten her out, she'd be bigger than Texas" - you're doing about as much surface as two-three Khuk handles, and only 1/8 to 1/4 square inch at a time. You will find small places that just won't take a polish, but they can be burnished with a toothpick to almost a shined surface - sometimes better - but be very careful not to apply too much pressure. After a couple of coats, the oil will set up and help protect the more delicate areas.
 
Walosi is the expert. He taught me much of what I know. Do it like he said.

That being said, I just did one and will pass along what I did. I'm a big fan of Tru-Oil, as Wal has taught me. My bottle has gotten kind of old and a little thick (Wal can this be thinned?) so I decided to try something else. I have some Watco Teak Oil, which I suspect is just a thinned linseed product. I had bought this to put on some oily tropical wood. First I cleaned the red rouge with a toothbrush and some mineral spirits. Tried not to let the spirits sit too long as I didn't want it to soak in. I would scrub a 1" by 2" area then blot it off with a rag, or blow it off with an air gun. After cleaning and letting it dry for a couple of days, I took a toothbrush and really worked a heavy coat of the teak oil in. After letting it soak for about 30 minutes, I blotted off a lot of the remaining oil. This took 2-3 days to dry. Then I worked a very light coat in with the toothbrush again. Just trying to barely cover the wood. This coat dryed very slowly. After about a week, I took toothpicks and cleaned the gummy oil out of the crevasses. A few days later it was dry and beautiful.

Again, anything that Wal tells you, you can take to the bank. Just wanted to share what worked for me. If my Tru-Oil had been newer, I would have used it.

Steve
 
I'll add one thing, if I may....Since I first posted my "Woodchuck Wisdom", several (Fergy, firkin, Fed and many others) have turned out some stuff that is better than the best I have ever done. They have added refinements such as finer and finer grits of paper, different oils, and many of their own innovations. The desired result is to get a very thin coat of hardened oil (achieved through many coats, each driving the one before deeper into the grain) which makes the grain translucent through a smooth, glass-like surface. The MAIN ingredient is technique, which has to be learned through your fingertips. Different oils and additives can improve on drying time and final effect, but technique and patience are the keys. The sense of accomplishment, when you see things in the wood that simply weren't there before is the reward. When a dowdy piece of wood turns into moving, live fireworks display, be careful....you're hooked for life :D
 
Most of the Wal Mart sporting goods have a Birchwood Casey display rack, with their Tru Oil, and other products. That makes it the most available of the good to better oil finishes. If you have a Brownells catalog, or search their site for stock finishes, you will find an assortment of good ones, including Linspeed, which goes back some 40 years or more. It was the first finish I used, and thought (until last week) that it was no longer available.
 
Ben,

I found mine at a gun shop. Probably paid more than at Walosi's sources, but I was having trouble finding it.
 
The WalMarts in my country don't seem as well stocked as the ones in the States. You can't even buy frozen meat in the ones here. :(

No tru oil, no foot oil. :(
 
I know how you feel Bruise. It's hit or miss here with the Wal Marts. One season you can find Gun Brite, one of the best polishes I've ever used, and next year you have to buy it off the internet.

Does Tru-Oil darken the wood very much? Thanks for the helps guys. You all have made buying these khuks worthwhile. The postman should be bringing the Bilton today. :)

Ben
 
The WalMarts in my country don't seem as well stocked as the ones in the States. You can't even buy frozen meat in the ones here.
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Don't you people just rub everything down with camel dung?:p

Thanks very much for advice! I am off to the gun shop today to pick up some Tru-oil. Where would I get Murphy's Oil Soap or mineral spirits? Also, it sounds like I don't need any kind of capping varnish as the oil will set up like that anyhow - is this true?

Thanks again,
Phil
 
The oil finish is all that is needed, but I usually cap it off with a couple of coats of a good paste floor wax. Just helps keep them shiny. None of the good oil finishes will darken the wood noticeably - The light they let into the grain more than makes up for any darkening that might occur.

Bruiser, our local Wal Mart only has frozen meats in the winter...in the parking lot:barf:
 
Walosi,

Does the paste wax application cause any problems with gripping the khuk during use, either with a dry or sweaty hand? Not talking about a carved handle.
 
Originally posted by Aardvark
Walosi,

Does the paste wax application cause any problems with gripping the khuk during use, either with a dry or sweaty hand? Not talking about a carved handle.
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Not my Bro, but I can answer.:)
The paste wax will actually make the piece "grippier" and it won't slide at all.
I use Johnson's Paste Wax for all my waxing, not waning, needs.;)
It does real well on scroll saw tables and the like to keep the iron from rusting.
Multitudes of uses!!!!:D

Any good wax with lots of carnuba will do just fine. The carnuba is what keeps the wax surface from being slippery, or at least that's what I was told many moons ago.
 
Wow, that's a great tip about the saw table. I've got an old cast iron table saw that doesn't get used a lot. Think I'll wax it's table (sounds threatening, doesn't it?).

And who'd have thunk that waxing does NOT = slippery? Hollywood has been wrong all these years.
 
Murphy's Oil Soap is usually available with the cleaners in the supermarket. Mineral Spirits is paint thinner, and will be available where paint is sold.

Have fun!

Steve
 
It's my understanding that carnuba is the hardest, highest melting natural wax. That is why its special, it's the most durable. Unless it's formulated into a paste, I think the only way to apply is via a loaded wheel. Comes from the leaves of a kind of palm-like tree in South America.

And who'd have thunk that waxing does NOT = slippery? Hollywood has been wrong all these years.
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You've been watching the wrong movies is all. Watch some surfing movies (instead of the 3 stooges) and see them wax the top of the boards so that they are less slippery.:p

Actually depends on the wax, the temperature, and what is rubbing against the waxed surface. That's why there are so many kinds of cross-country ski wax. One wants the tips to glide over the snow, but the center under the foot to be grippy. That way, when all the body weight is applied, the bowed center of the ski touches the snow, and one can push off. Distribute the weight between both skis, the center part flexes up away from the snow, and the ends waxed with splippery wax allow for the glide. As the temperature changes, different waxes need to be applied.

I haven't tested it, but I expect that a waxed handle may be slippery in cold weather with some types of gloves. With bare hands, the wax always feels grippy to me.
 
Guess it woulda been a fully erotic encounter if she was the one wearing the towel!
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Especially if she was delivering mail.



Watch some surfing movies (instead of the 3 stooges)
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Strangly enough, it was 'the Boys' that I was thinking of when I wrote that.
 
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