filling grain on handles

H

hobbitling

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Aug 16, 2013
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I'm at the finishing stage of a knife build, only my fourth knife actually. A re-handle of a mora blade.

The handle is mostly ziricote (with some nickle-silver and african blackwood segments as a bolster), so it's pretty hard stuff, but it does have some scattered, largeish pores. Not many, but enough that they are noticeable. On my previous knives I've left the pores open for a more natural look, but this time I would like to fill them (as much as I can) so I can get a nice smooth satin or semi-gloss finish. The handle is all shaped and sanded to 600 grit.

I'd rather not have to buy any new products, but I have the following ingredients at my disposal:

mineral spirits
Watco danish-oil
raw tung oil
boiled linseed oil
general finishes salad bowl finish
minwax helmsman spar varnish.
varathane tung oil danish finish
Pratt & Lambert satin varnish.
every grit of sandpaper imaginable
micromesh sanding pads.

So, using just those ingredients, how do I make this handle look great?
 
Tung Oil. Brush on, wait 30 minutes, wipe off. Wait 24 hours, do again, until all pores are smooth. I usually spray with gloss polyurethane after that, wait 72 hours, buff and wax.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
Slow-cure cyanoacrylate glue, wet sanded to fill the pores with the sawdust.

With what you have sitting around, I'd thin down one of the varnishes and wet sand that in. The only reason I'd go that route instead of tung oil is there isn't as much left behind when the tung oil finally dries out.
 
In Michael Rader's thread a little bit ago, he described his method:

Michael Rader said:
Ok, so, you don't actually have to finish your handle to the grade that I do to pass your tests, but I'll share a few tips on that.
I was taught wood finishing by an ol' timer that worked for Benelli a long time ago and one of the most important things he stressed about finishing gunstocks was filling the grain. He really liked Teak Oil. I think we used SeaFin.

So, sand your handle down to 320-400 grit or so, saturate the handle with oil and let sit for about ten minutes while just keeping it wet so as much oil can soak in as possible. Then we would wet-sand so a slurry of sawdust fills the grains and pores. Kinda massage it in with your fingers too when it gets thicker. Let sit for 5 days or so in a warm room until that stuff is rock-hard. Sand back down to the wood again and do it again. Then sand it down to the wood yet again and this time, wipe off the slurry after wet-sanding and with a clean paper towel wipe on a clean coating of oil. Let dry. Repeat.

At this point the grain and pores are filled and you are building a very thin layer of hard, clean oil finish in and on the wood. Repeat the wet-sanding with 600, 800, 1200 grit papers. Apply clean oil everytime afterwards. Let dry completely. Buy some super fine steel-wool from Klingspore or Rockler (not Lowe's or Home Depot - their #0000 isn't the same.) Scrub the finish to a nice satin sheen. You can also rub-out the finish with Pumice then Rottenstone powders too.

So, that is how we did it and many, many of my sword handles/scabbards and knife handles were done this way. I'd recommend using Pro-Custom gunstock oil from Brownell's instead of Teak or Tru-Oil. And, yes, do this on stabilized woods too especially if you can see open grains like Koa, etc... You might want to use a buffer on the finish too, but if those grains/pores aren't filled, it won't look quite as nice as it can.

There are some other, quicker ways to fill the grain/pores too, but, you know - try this for a while...
Builds character.
Click to expand...
 
I use thin superglue and I do the process at the 220 grit phase, not the last grit! You have to be able to sand off the extra superglue. Sand for a few strokes to produce some dust, then rub a few drops over the scale with gloved thumbs. Then sand and repeat. Once the poores are filled, finish the handle as usual. While I believe the correct way is Mr. Rader's method I like this method because it takes 5 minutes total.
 
Michael's method is the classic method for higher end gun stocks and works great if you have the patience.
The way that Andy mentioned is probably the most practical method for knife makers.
As he mentioned, you want to be sanding away the CA glue on the surface leaving only that which settles in the pores.
 
The comments suggesting mixing finishes ---I'd hesitate to mix finishes such as varnish/oil unless I knew they were compatible. You can mix sawdust and varnish and apply .Then when dry sand smooth.If pores are deep I'd prefer that over the wet sand method.
 
The product you use will vary depending on the sheen you want. Tung oil has a pretty flat, satin sheen, Danish oil is more semigloss, and tru oil is closer to a gloss. Wetsanding with your finish allowing the slurry to fill the pores is the way I do it. Let the slurry fully dry before the next coat as the thinners will just soften the slurry on the next coat wasting the step. I usually wet sand at 600 or 800 grit with natural wood, and 1200 with stabilized wood. Tung and danish oil typically take 10 coats, give or take a few depending on the wood, and tru oil is usually 5 or 6 coats in my shop.

Re: mixing finishes. Most Tung oil has a bit of varnish in it, but you can get pure tung oil from specialty stores. Danish oil has a bit more varnish, and some bees wax mixed in. Tru oil has even more varnish. You can custom mix your own recipes, which is what I did to make my own danish oil before I found a local supplier. I like Watco brand.

As a finishing touch, 2-3 coats of paste wax buffed by hand really brings out the WOW!!
 
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I have used from 5 coats to over 20, depending on the wood.

I DO NOT sand wet wood as it can muddy the finish. I sand dry finish to remove buildup and see the wood better.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
Do you guys think a well done oil finish(like Mr.Raders) is the most durable handle finish?
Great Thread guys!
 
Filling the pores (grain) is part of the finishing.
You have an oil that hardens and it mixes with dust you sand off the wood. They form a slurry and that fills the pores.
That´s the idea. There's several ways to do it
 
Michael Rader said:
Yeah, but... the wet-oil-sanding builds character, you want that don't you? How do you think I got to be as crazy as I am, huh? You guys are missing out ;-)
Click to expand...
As an afterthought I have to agree with Michael. Crazy or not, he does get one of the best finishes I have seen on any knife handles.
 
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