Desert Iron Wood handle care...

K

KCkc

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Jun 1, 2006
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Hi, I am new to knives but I got a folder with desert ironwood handles.
What do I use to care for the wood ?

Thanks.
 
I only have one with ironwood, and I have put Renaissance wax on it a couple times. I've read that ironwood is some pretty tough stuff - more so than other woods.
broos
 
DIW doesnt require much care , other than if you wish to keep it spiffy looking.
You could use Ren wax like the above poster recommends , you could use any number of oils , waxes or polishes on it... Beeswax for instance.
My favorite method for rock hard woods like that is to use tung oil.
Take a drop on your finger and work it into the wood (it's not going to really absorb much , if any) and then buff off with a lint free cloth , do it twice or more for a nicer polish.
 
Ironwood is one of the most naturally stable and dense woods out there. beyond a light wax it shouldnt need much. its nearly impossible to seal or stablize because it is so dense and naturally stable. I've never had to do much in terms of maintenance at all. You can still get a little shrinking/expanding as with other woods if the knife goes from one climate to another, but for the most part, you can just look at it and enjoy! Ironwood does tend to darken up with time. Right off the grinder, it will be much lighter than its final color.
 
no wonder when I polish it with wood polish (bottle says for semi-gloss like maple), on the DIW, it did not seem to look shinier.
 
Another thought , how fine is the sanded finish on your Ironwood ?
I took one of mine down to 1500 grit , polishing and polishing until it had almost a "mirror" finish without adding anything. The chatoyance was brilliant , even more so when I cleaned her off and applied just a touch of tung oil and polished , this was good enough to make it sparkle.
 
I usually take mine to about 1000, then a really, really light buff. Some people tend to stop too early sanding and buff like mad, but I tend to dislike the outcome. If you have the patience, mirror finishing ironwood by hand is worth the sweat! In the end, a used knife will acquire a fine, soft eggshell finish...
 
TikTock said:
I usually take mine to about 1000, then a really, really light buff. Some people tend to stop too early sanding and buff like mad, but I tend to dislike the outcome. If you have the patience, mirror finishing ironwood by hand is worth the sweat! In the end, a used knife will acquire a fine, soft eggshell finish...
Click to expand...
I am not sure, usually when I restore my vintage celluloid pens, I use Simichrome which is more than 2000 grit fine.

I have never polished wood in my life with sandpaper. Hence the reason I bought the lotion polish.

Right now the surface is like soft eggshell semi-gloss. This is the knife in question.
Thanks for you help with this newbie question.
IMG_1637.jpg
 
It looks like the scales on that beauty are removable , torx ?
If so it would make polishing your scales easier , whatever your method.


This question is for TikTock

I've never used a buffer for my scales , always different grits of paper , when you buff do you use the same wheel exclusively for your scales ?
 
I use paper up to 1000-1500 grit, then buff with a loose wheel and white polish. I use one wheel for all woods to keep it clean, another for steel, and a really dirty one for nickel silver, brass or soft materials. You need to mask off the wood when doing bolsters and mask bolsters while doing scales to avoid contamination. A dirty buff can smear dark onto an otherwise beatiful piece of wood. While you can remove it via acetone, it usually causes you to need to re-buff.

Here are some examples of the nices ironwood i've had. These have been handled and have that beautiful resulting eggshell finish. Right off the buffer, they looked glassy, and take that gloss back easilly with a light rubdown with a cloth:
4.jpg

3.jpg


Compare that to a stabilized wood. Stabilized burl tends to allow a near glasslike finish:
5.jpg
 
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