Finish a red oak knife handle

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NewbieKnifeGuy

Joined
May 4, 2015
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This is my first ever handmade knife, or any knife for that matter. I am also not a woodworker and do not know how to finish red oak. I am not sure I want to stain it, I do want to seal it and give it the semi wet gloss look. Also I would like it to be sealed or something that keeps it lasting longer.
Thanks for any help, I hope I can find many years of fun in knife making.
 
Make sure that you seal the grain using anything from Super Glue to Tru Oil after you decide to keep it natural or stained. Sealing the grain will make it much easier to get a proper finish. Best of luck.
 
Agree, staining it is a personal choice. SEALING it is a must on any type of oak. It's got very open grain and will get very dirty over the years if you don't.
 
I decided after looking around last night that I do not want to stain it. I think I want to do a gloss lacquer, does that still mean I should use some tru oil to seal the grain?
 
True Oil is a great finish. Sand in the first couple coats to fill the open grain of the red oak and then add more coats until you get the look you like. When you are done you will end up with a high gloss finish but you can always buff with steel wool to take it back to a nice satin finish. I've found it to be an easy finish to apply and it is very durable. It is a go to finish for many gun stock makers.
 
So are tru oil and lacquer are performing the same thing to seal the handle? Or should I use a varnish or lacquer to finish up after I tru oil?
 
Lacquer is generally used as a top coat over stain or oil finishes. It does not penetrate much into the wood. True oil is an oil varnish blend. It will fill the grain (if sanded in), enhance the look of the wood and provide protective coating. If you use true oil there is no need for lacquer, IMO.

You might want to take these questions over to the knifemaker's "how to" thread. That is a more appropriate place to discuss specific questions on processes and finishes. Good luck.
 
You can choose to fill the pores, and if you like have a top coat or other finish.
Filling and sealing are two different things
You fill pores with dust and finnish product, by wetsanding with your finnish product.
It forms a slurry that fills the pores then dry.
You can choose to ad a top layer or don't do that at all.
If you choose a fatty finnish (oil or wax) to fill the pores, laquer or so won't take any more.

This is an oak handle. I wetsanded it with an oil/varnish blend (P280, 400, 600 if I remember well)
After drying I sanded smooth again and handsanded it to 2500, no top coat.
Smooth!!
Also oak has rays (sometimes called tiger stripe) It's the lighter chevron shapes you see.
See where it is in the handle block you want to use. I think it looks best on the sides

2.jpg
 
I found a tru oil kit at bass pro for a resonance amount. So I am currently letting the first coat dry before I pore fill By wet sanding. Thanks for the info I have just begun to figure out the differences between sealing or filling thee pores and top coating. I will try to host a picture of the finished knife soon. It's pretty messy but it has been a blast learning.
 
The directions say to put A coat on and let it soak into the pores and dry for 24 hours. Then to wet sand with 280 or 320 grit with more tru oil to create a slurry. Then to apply more coats a needed to get the look. If the directions dont work out I'll try not letting the first coat dry next time.
 
ok, sounds like a plan!

If you like you can actualy go completely crazy and fill the pores with contrasting material.
Say black or white paint.
Sand it back after drying and you'll have an interesting pattern
 
Thanks I've seen something like that on a woodworking website using a sealer and varying stains to create contrast even using a white gel stain on top of a sealed bluish ash cabinet front.
 
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