Finish Iron woods

[jim moyer]

I have received about 40 pounds of Iron wood today which I will use for scales on my folders.

What are my options for a final finish.

Thanks

 

[deker]

Jim,

Ironwood rewards you for lots of finish sanding. Go to about 1000 grit and then LIGHTLY buff with white compound on a loose buff.

-d

 

[Rusty McDonald]

Iron wood is a pleasure to finish, cuz gettin it to that point can be a pain. Make sure you use new belts or you will make burn marks in the wood.
I go to 600 grit then use medium and fine scotch brite. then to the buffing wheel w/white compound and after that a couple of coats of wax to finish it off.

 

[silver_pilate]

I do all my Ironwood roughing with 36 grit working carefully. I finish on the grinder with 400-600 on the grinder, moving lightly to avoid burns. Then it's to hand paper starting at 600 and moving through 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 making sure to get all the scratches out before moving up in grit. After that, a light buff with white rouge and a couple of coats of Danish oil followed by a good rubdown with a soft cloth.

Here's the results:

And this one with a little bit more burl and a darker tone:

Both of these are Arizona Desert Ironwood.

The finish varies from a high luster egg shell to a great chatoyance depending on the piece. A couple of wax coats would probably increase the luster.

--nathan

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

BTW, there is Ironwood, and then there is desert ironwood. They are two entirely different things.
Stacy

 

[silver_pilate]

True that, Stacy.

My experiences have been with DESERT ironwoods.

--nathan

 

[butcher_block]

for me 220 flex belt then on to hand sanding 320-600-1200 buffing lightly
i like to hog with 36 and clean up 80 and 120 grits

 

[David Wesner]

BTW, there is Ironwood, and then there is desert ironwood. They are two entirely different things.
Stacy

True :thumbup: Around these parts (Upper Michigan), hophornbeam is known as ironwood. I've also seen unscrupulous characters on ebay that are trying to pass hophornbeam as ironwood. Definitely not the same as arizona desert ironwood.

My technique for finishing is similar to Deker and Butch.

Really nice looking knives Nathan !! Really nice :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[jim moyer]

nathan these handles are beautiful. This wood is also desert stuff. Thanks all for the tips. Can hardly wait to cut into it today. They are 12 inch diameter with the sap wood wich is about an inch thick.

 

[silver_pilate]

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen!

BTW, this stuff stinks pretty good when grinding. Also, it will burn pretty easy as was mentioned, so work lightly and with fresh belts. A good belt cleaner can help also. And wear a respirator. You don't want this dust in your lungs as it has a high silica content (i.e. silicosis) and there are fungal spores found in southwest desert soils that some believe can find their way into your lungs causing a serious problem. I wear a respirator grinding and a dust mask when sanding.

--nathan

 

[jim moyer]

Thank you for the good advice Nathan and you are welcome as those are without a doubt beautiful knives.

 

[Mike Hull]

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen!

BTW, this stuff stinks pretty good when grinding. Also, it will burn pretty easy as was mentioned, so work lightly and with fresh belts. A good belt cleaner can help also. And wear a respirator. You don't want this dust in your lungs as it has a high silica content (i.e. silicosis) and there are fungal spores found in southwest desert soils that some believe can find their way into your lungs causing a serious problem. I wear a respirator grinding and a dust mask when sanding.

--nathan

If you can smell that stuff when working, you're risking your life. You need to wear a vapor canister respirator. Olneya Tesota, or AZ desert ironwood has enough bug poison in it to put the chemical factories to shame. That's how those trees survive in this type of environement. It only grows on the Sonoran desert. The dust if breathed can give you serious fungal infections of the lungs leading to death if you havs a compromised immune system, sometimes even if not.
Treat all knifemaking materials as highly toxic(because they are)and you may live to reach an age where you can enjoy yourself and your grandkids. Lots of knifemakers have died over the years at a fairly early age because of no proper protection. It's not just for sissies anymore.

 

[silver_pilate]

I've smelled the smell, but I always go well protected when grinding. I use multipurpose vapor/organic/particle/formaldyhide/etc. cartridges. I don't smell the wood when grinding, but rather after I take the mask off when I'm leaving the shop, I catch a whiff.

Mike is absolutely right. Wear good protection.

--nathan