Finishes for wood and brass

E

emoore

Joined
Mar 29, 2001
Messages
2
Dear Sirs,
I am making my first knife which is fixed blade of D2 steel that I have hollow ground and heat treated. I have a nice piece of walnut that I would like to use for the handle with brass for the bolster. Does anyone know of a good finish for the wood, brass and the steel? Something to keep the metals from tarnishing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ed
 
Ed, Welcome to the forums! I like to use Tru-oil from Birchwood -Casey for the wood. Just follow the directions, As for thr brass just sand down to about 600 - 800 grit and lightly polish with the electric buffer or hand polish with semi-chrome polish. Bruce B
 
I would go with solid Carnauba wax. If your particular choice of wood requires sealing, then seal it first. Then just put it on a clean buffing wheel as you would buffing compound and buff both wood and brass. Works great and lasts a couple of years on the brass, longer on the wood.

Forgot to mention that if you wish to apply multiple coats, you should allow a full day for each coat to harden before applying another coat.

The steel is a different matter....food grade peanut oil, if you're going to use the knife for food preparation.

Redwolf
 
The thing you'll find with the forums is that you'll always get lots of different options to try :D I like Watco Teak oil finish. It is a penetrating oil finish specifically designed for dense hardwoods. Works great and I think you can get it at Lowes or Home Depot. As for the blade and bolster, sand to 600 or higher and use Butchers paste wax or rennisance wax on the whole thing.
Welcome to the forums!
Ed
 
BRass will always tarnish. If you go through the grits to 800 then polish. You will no exactly what to do to restore the finish when you get to that point. Personally, I like the tarnished look. As long as the green crud is kept off the brass and just let the natural colors come through......Dont be afraid of tarnish. It can be your friend :D
 
True, brass will always tarnish eventually.

I have a 7 year old knife that I made and used solid carnauba on that has never seen green crud yet and I haven't touched it up since making it. And I'm one of those extremely corrosive sweaters.

The cocobola still looks and feels great as well.

I love the solid carnauba finish.

Redwolf
 
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