DAMNIT! Is there any way to rescue this osage handle where 1 pin got too hot???

G

GrizzlyBear

Joined
Dec 5, 2009
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I'm grinding down the pins on a knife for a customer this morning and 1 out of the 6 pins (7 with thong tube) got too hot and now I have a thin, ugly burned ring around the pin in my pretty bright yellow/orange Osage Orange handle...and only on 1 side.

*sigh* I really don't want to have to strip the scales and re do the knife as the customer has been very patient with me and getting it done when I can considering I work in an auto shop 45-50 hours a week, and I'm usually worn out when I get home.

I tried taking a razor blade and cutting down through the burned wood next to the pin and then filling that area with ca glue mixed with sanding dust, but the dust had metal dust in it from the pins and made the dried 'patch' greyish yellow.

I thought to myself, why don't I try getting all the pins to do this and making the handle have a distressed look. Well, that didn't happen...I couldn't get the pins to heat up without taking off too much handle material.

So I got out my wood burning tool and, very gently, darkened the wood around the other pins, but it was a noticable difference compared to the original burn.

So now, I've sanded it all off, and I'm back to the original screw up, and need ANY advice on how to fix it. A drop of bleach perhaps, to lighten the wood?

If all else fails, I will try the dust/glue patch again, but with a drop of epoxy and pure dust from a piece of scrap.

Help...please :)
 
I feel your pain but I would bite the bullet and break the handle off and start over. These kind of things tend to nag at me until I make it right.
Dave
 
no, fiance has the camera :P If I was staining the handle it wouldn't be no problem as the stain would be covering up the ring.
 
GrizzlyBear said:
I'm grinding down the pins on a knife for a customer this morning and 1 out of the 6 pins (7 with thong tube) got too hot and now I have a thin, ugly burned ring around the pin in my pretty bright yellow/orange Osage Orange handle...and only on 1 side.

*sigh* I really don't want to have to strip the scales and re do the knife as the customer has been very patient with me and getting it done when I can considering I work in an auto shop 45-50 hours a week, and I'm usually worn out when I get home.

I tried taking a razor blade and cutting down through the burned wood next to the pin and then filling that area with ca glue mixed with sanding dust, but the dust had metal dust in it from the pins and made the dried 'patch' greyish yellow.

I thought to myself, why don't I try getting all the pins to do this and making the handle have a distressed look. Well, that didn't happen...I couldn't get the pins to heat up without taking off too much handle material.

So I got out my wood burning tool and, very gently, darkened the wood around the other pins, but it was a noticable difference compared to the original burn.

So now, I've sanded it all off, and I'm back to the original screw up, and need ANY advice on how to fix it. A drop of bleach perhaps, to lighten the wood?

If all else fails, I will try the dust/glue patch again, but with a drop of epoxy and pure dust from a piece of scrap.

Help...please :)
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Try staining the handle with a dark brown stain. I use regular minwax walnut stain for this. What happens is that the ugly burnt pin blends in pretty well with the rest of the stained poores, etc. Doesn't stand out anymore. Sometimes I've used leather dye. Either way. If you don't like the results, then tear off the scales. Osage is pretty when stained though. And this goes a long way toward professional from burnt pin. I've still had to chisel off scales. But I've also had it go the other way.
 
That was my next step, staining the scales a light color (since they will brown anyway, really, no matter what you do).

I went back and resanded the handle to 800. Then got a different tip for my woodburning tool and reapplied the darkened rings around the rest of the pins. It actually looks pretty cool now, in my opinion. Allows the nice stainless pins to stand out from the osage some. I'm going to go ahead and finish it like this, and then show it to the customer. If he doesn't like it, then I will tear the scales off and do them again. But he might end up liking it, who knows :)

Wish I had a small pen torch, I've seen some really really nice osage that's been torched to bring out grain patterns....might have complimented what I've got going on.
 
Fiddleback said:
Try staining the handle with a dark brown stain. I use regular minwax walnut stain for this. What happens is that the ugly burnt pin blends in pretty well with the rest of the stained poores, etc. Doesn't stand out anymore. Sometimes I've used leather dye. Either way. If you don't like the results, then tear off the scales. Osage is pretty when stained though. And this goes a long way toward professional from burnt pin. I've still had to chisel off scales. But I've also had it go the other way.
Click to expand...

Good advise if it were not osage orange. Its one of the more difficult woods I have tried to color.
 
Ok, so I did the reburning around the pins to basically give the wood a look like each pin has made an aged ring around it. I can't think of the right word, but I've seen it on old, old furniture and what not.

After wetsanding to 800 one final time, I just didn't like the look of the rings...there was too much of a contrast between the ring and the bright yellow wood.

So I took Fiddleback's advice and did a wipe down with Fiebing's Pro Oil leather dye in Light Brown. I rubbed it on, then basically burnished it with the papertowel. The rings are still noticable, but they look way more at home now and the handle has a nice aged look to it. So, I'm going to put on a coat of Helmsman Spar Urethane when the dye dries and call it finished.

If the customer doesn't like it, I will do another set and issue him a discount for having to wait longer due to my mess up.

Does that sound like the appropriate thing to do?
 
Sounds like you got things worked out... upon customer approval. I would love to see a photo when you get a hold of a camera, let us know what the customer decides!

are these the same scales you were heating up bits on? Osage Orange sounds like a Bear (No pun intended ;)) to work with.
 
As soon as my fiance gets home, I can take and post pics. I hope the customer approves, he wanted it to be the normal yellow color, but I don't think he realizes how quickly it starts to turn brown.

So, we'll see :) If anything, I may keep it like it is, and try to sell it and make him another...I'm really starting to like the color it dyed to.
 
Well it's settled, if he doesn't like it, I'm going to just order another blade and redo the order.

I just put a coat of that spar urethane on it, and wow...it looks awesome! :)
 
The way the blank is oriented, wouldn't allow for larger pins, plus theres 6 1/8" pins and 1 1/4" thong tube...thats alot of redrilling. I have plenty of this osage on hand, I just hate having to tear something apart (after it already came apart once and was fixed).
 
I would hazard a guess that you could have replaced the handle in the time it took you to fix it. But, hope the customer likes it.

Dave
 
I probably could have lol, I guess it was more of an ego thing. Could I turn this screw up into something nice or erase it completely?
 
David Stifle said:
I would hazard a guess that you could have replaced the handle in the time it took you to fix it.
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What David said. Frustrating as can be but *shrug*

Don't feel too bad, I just spent the better part of a day tearing a knife apart, re-hand-sanding the blade, re-etching it and making a whole new handle after a similar goof. But now it's right and won't keep me awake.
 
Good for you !!! I found over a conciderable length of time that by trying to make "repairs" I learned how to do first class restorations on ivory. The learning cuve can be long but there will be no learning if we don't "waste" the time to try. I know if I hadn't learned the cost of just repacing would have sent me to the poor house. Frank
 
Not sure if you can do this but I burnt one pin, drilled it out and replaced it with a flared hollow pin (like Busse ones)

Richard
 
Raymond Richard said:
Good advise if it were not osage orange. Its one of the more difficult woods I have tried to color.
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Try the minwax stuff. I haven't enjoyed the Flebings on Osage as much as Maple. (I got that leather dye tip from you, btw.)
 
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