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- Jun 19, 2007
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I plan on reworking the handles on all my khuks. It's the nature of the beast. I'd think the Sarge would be disappointed if people didn't tweak their tools for optimum usage.
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- Thread starter Yangdu
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I plan on reworking the handles on all my khuks. It's the nature of the beast. I'd think the Sarge would be disappointed if people didn't tweak their tools for optimum usage.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 2,845
Many of my khuks have come with a sharp bit of metal somewhere - usually on the butt cap. Getting rid of them is not a big deal.
Don't worry about marring the finish. At worst, you'll have something along the lines of a hard-use village knife. At best, you can use it as a project and learn how to refinish handles- always worthwhile! It's pretty easy, and make the wood look really great.
Short version:
1. Scrub the handle with Murphy's oil soap and a toothbrush to remove any residual polishing compound.
2. Sand off the wax/varnish. At this point, you can sand down the sharp edges of the pins and blend them into the handle. A file may be faster, but you might make some gouges that are difficult to remove. Sandpaper will work just fine - I'd recommend the gray wet/dry stuff in finer grits. You can also make adjustments to the handle profile, if you choose.
3. (optional) Soak in wood oil of your choice - linseed oil, tung oil, tru oil, etc. This could get messy, but will help reverse any shrinkage. Allow to soak in/dry.
4. Final sanding - smooth everything out with progressively finer grits. Finish with 000 steel wool.
5. Carefully clean the surface of all dust and steel wool particles. Tack cloth, magnet, and toothpicks (to get in grooves) are all helpful.
6. Apply a thin layer of finishing oil (boiled linseed, tung, Danish, etc.) You should use just enough to cover the whole surface. I usually use my fingertips, but there are nasty things in these products (heavy metals, petroleum distillates, etc.) so gloves or an application pad would be safer. Make sure there isn't extra gunking up the handle grooves.
7. After applying the oil, do the same with a thin layer of Armor-All. This helps smooth things out and give you a great finish (patented Walosi treatment).
8. Allow to dry, 1-2 days depending on temperature, humidity, and the actual oil you choose. Surface should no longer be tacky.
9. Lightly polish with steel wool - you're just smoothing the finish, not going down to bare wood. Re-clean with tack cloth. Use a toothpick to de-gunk all grooves.
Repeat steps 6-9 to apply more coats of finish. The more coats you apply, the more detail comes out in the wood. Things start to get interesting around 6 coats. Highly figured woods are rumored to take dozens and dozens of coats, with increasingly spectacular results. Finish with some sort of wood/furniture wax.
The process sounds complicated, but it's not really. Requires about $20 at the hardware store (depends a bit on the quantity and type of finishing oil you get - they can be expensive, but you don't need much), an hour or so for the initial sanding/shaping, and 15 minutes or less for each coat.
Don't worry about marring the finish. At worst, you'll have something along the lines of a hard-use village knife. At best, you can use it as a project and learn how to refinish handles- always worthwhile! It's pretty easy, and make the wood look really great.
Short version:
1. Scrub the handle with Murphy's oil soap and a toothbrush to remove any residual polishing compound.
2. Sand off the wax/varnish. At this point, you can sand down the sharp edges of the pins and blend them into the handle. A file may be faster, but you might make some gouges that are difficult to remove. Sandpaper will work just fine - I'd recommend the gray wet/dry stuff in finer grits. You can also make adjustments to the handle profile, if you choose.
3. (optional) Soak in wood oil of your choice - linseed oil, tung oil, tru oil, etc. This could get messy, but will help reverse any shrinkage. Allow to soak in/dry.
4. Final sanding - smooth everything out with progressively finer grits. Finish with 000 steel wool.
5. Carefully clean the surface of all dust and steel wool particles. Tack cloth, magnet, and toothpicks (to get in grooves) are all helpful.
6. Apply a thin layer of finishing oil (boiled linseed, tung, Danish, etc.) You should use just enough to cover the whole surface. I usually use my fingertips, but there are nasty things in these products (heavy metals, petroleum distillates, etc.) so gloves or an application pad would be safer. Make sure there isn't extra gunking up the handle grooves.
7. After applying the oil, do the same with a thin layer of Armor-All. This helps smooth things out and give you a great finish (patented Walosi treatment).
8. Allow to dry, 1-2 days depending on temperature, humidity, and the actual oil you choose. Surface should no longer be tacky.
9. Lightly polish with steel wool - you're just smoothing the finish, not going down to bare wood. Re-clean with tack cloth. Use a toothpick to de-gunk all grooves.
Repeat steps 6-9 to apply more coats of finish. The more coats you apply, the more detail comes out in the wood. Things start to get interesting around 6 coats. Highly figured woods are rumored to take dozens and dozens of coats, with increasingly spectacular results. Finish with some sort of wood/furniture wax.
The process sounds complicated, but it's not really. Requires about $20 at the hardware store (depends a bit on the quantity and type of finishing oil you get - they can be expensive, but you don't need much), an hour or so for the initial sanding/shaping, and 15 minutes or less for each coat.