Recommendation? Finish for Ironwood??

C

CJ Newton

Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
186
All right. So I rescaled my Buck 110 a few years ago and over time the ironwood turned black. My question is, what can I do to prevent this? I don't mind if it gets dark, I just don't want it to be black to the point where I can't even see the grain any more. All advice is appreciated and thank you for taking the time to reply.
-CJ
 
It's an everyday accumulation of Crud...oils from your hands and dirt all work it's way into the wood grain. Products like Tru-Oil help to seal the outer surface of the wood. You will have a shiny wood that will require refinishing at some point based on how much daily abuse the knife gets. Try using Murphy's oil soap to clean the wood.
 
Busto said:
It's an everyday accumulation of Crud...oils from your hands and dirt all work it's way into the wood grain. Products like Tru-Oil help to seal the outer surface of the wood. You will have a shiny wood that will require refinishing at some point based on how much daily abuse the knife gets. Try using Murphy's oil soap to clean the wood.
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Thank you for the reply! Is the wood soap bad for the wood if used over time? If not, I have no problem with doing a little maintenance every now and then. If not the wood soap, ae there other products that can remove the dirt?
 
My edc fixed blade is the only ironwood handled knife I have myself and it does this too. Unfortunately it's already a dark burl so it turns nearly black. Then one day after filling pumpkins with tannerite I noticed it was also sparkly black :D:eek: The aluminum powder on my hands got all over it when cutting holes in the pumpkins.

I ended up resanding it and haven't carried it since so this thread is relevant to my interests.
 
ALSO I just remembered another question. HYPOTHETICALLY, could ironwood (like Arizona ironwood or something) absorb tung oil or some other oil, given enough time? I know everyone says ironwood "doesn't" absorb oils or finishes, but my thought is, what if I were to take the scales (only like 1/4in. thick) and let them soak in tung oil for like a week, or even longer, in an air-free container? Would they STILL absorb nothing?
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Isn't it also the wood oxidizing that causes it to darken?
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Yeah that's what I've been told. And UV light as well, but I think the absolute black look is from dirt. UV and oxidation, I think, only account for a slight browning. But I may be wrong.
 
Uv and oxidizing are the main culprits. Teak oil is specifically made for dense oily woods like teak and rosewood. It has some uv blockers in it. I've noticed this helps some....considerably on some woods. I've not been able to eliminate the issue completely with Ironwood.
 
CJ Newton said:
Thank you for the reply! Is the wood soap bad for the wood if used over time? If not, I have no problem with doing a little maintenance every now and then. If not the wood soap, ae there other products that can remove the dirt?
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Murphy's Oil Soap was designed/formulated specifically to clean Wood Surfaces like hardwood floors. I use it for my floors and to clean other furniture items that over time attract grime. There are other wood cleaners on the market I've used Murphy's for years.
As others have stated sanding can maybe bring up some of the grain and reduce some of the oxidation.
 
I see. I would sand, but this is my edc that I plan to keep for as long as possible and it has a bit of sentimental value to me, so I'd rather not sand it and wear it down. I'll look more into the Murphy's though. Also, @J.Doyle, when you say you haven't eliminated the problem completely, what do you mean? I am okay with some darkening, even a lot as long as the grain still shows. Or are you saying regardless of what I do it will eventually turn black? Also, I've considered sanding them just a hair smaller than they need to be and adding a layer of CA, but I heard someone say this finish wears off over time. Any thoughts?
 
As CJ said, it's probably UV that has the long term effect to darken it. Ben Greenberg also called this out.
Sunlight...
 
I think light exposure is the main reason ironwood turns dark. It seems to me that teak oil with uv blockers lessens AND slows the darkening but doesn't stop it completely.

Its quite likely that each individual piece of Ironwood will behave at least slightly different and then there are the other factors mentioned here that play a role in how dark a piece will get.

My pocket knife is carried daily for about 3 years. It has Ironwood scales that turned pretty much black quite quickly. About 8 months ago, I sanded them down, and applied teak oil. They are still brown but have darkened some but they aren't black. You can still see the grain and colors.

The teak oil alone will darken it some but originally they turned black about a month or two after they were first made.

Just my observations....I haven't conducted any scientific studies or anything like that.
 
I'd have to go with John and say individual pieces behave differently. I've used a lot of ironwood on a lot of hard use knives that see a lot of sun. I can think of one where one side darkened just on the part of the handle that was exposed out of the sheath and another where both sides darkened on the part of the handle exposed out of the sheath. Interestingly both owners thought that was really cool. Makes a guy go hmmm. I carried an ironwood handled knife for many years in a crossdraw horizontal sheath with about a 1/3rd of the handle exposed. It never did darken.
 
One thing I've noticed. When I glue up pieces I clean them with denatured alcohol first. The parts of the wood that are dark will drain out a lot of dark color, while the more blond parts won't leak much at all.
Now that is probably not a rocket science observation, but it makes me wonder how the blond vs dark parts react to light.
The dark seems to have more oil in it. Does it migrate? Does it just get darker, while the blonde part won't darken as much?
Interesting to ponder. ...
 
This may be crazy, but one of the better UV blockers is suntan lotion/oil. Can applying this lessen the UV exposure?

Asks the guy with an Ironwood handled knife in transit to him.
 
I experimented with producing finishing oils and waxes with UV absorbing compounds in them. I had some success but had to go back to school.

A lot of woods are simply going to darken, and ironwood is one of the worse ones. As John and some others mentioned, Light and oxygen are the two main culprits, so to prevent color change keep your knives in a sealed vault.

But in all honesty, its something that will happen. A quick once over with 800 and 1000 grit paper followed by a buff with some carnuba wax will restore the color, but ironwood darkens and it darkens a lot. As far as I know there are no ways around it.
 
Just a question, would the darkening differ between stabilized and unstabilized ironwood?
 
gunfixrjoe said:
Just a question, would the darkening differ between stabilized and unstabilized ironwood?
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Hmm. The thing is, ironwood isbrarely stabilized and does not gain much weight from stabilizing. In my expereince less than 10% weight gain. Ebay is full of listings of crack free stabilized desert ironwood and i am always skeptical. Most reputable sellers i know have been leaving ebay dye to poor communication and rising fees so i have some doubts of the quality that remains.

Back on topic, no. Neither the pieces i have personally tested nor any logical sense says it should prevent darkening. Remember what the stabilizing process is. Forcing monomer into wood at high pressure before heating to cure it. The color of woods is caused by heart wood extracts. A mix of oils, aromatic compounds and other organics that fill the heartwood.

It is these chemicals that are responsible for the color of woods, and that are responsible for their color change. In general, oxygen and uv light are the enemies of all dyes, and these are no diffrent. Introducing monomer via stabilizing will not fix the color.
 
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