Finishing B&W Ebony

[David Stifle]

Hi Guys, I recently finshed up some B&W ebony (gorgious wood, BTW), I applied Danish oil, as it's a dryer wood, and it turned out looking a little muddy, well, at least the paler parts did. I was wondering how you guys finish this wood without making the paler sections look slightly yellowed. Advice appreciated.

 

[G. Shahan]

Hey David,

I love black and white ebony also. I use true oil, it still turns out kind of yellow, but I like the look and finish.

Greg

 

[David Stifle]

Hey David,

I love black and white ebony also. I use true oil, it still turns out kind of yellow, but I like the look and finish.

Greg

Thanks Greg. I agree, a really nicely figured piece of B&W ebony is stunning. It's a dry wood however, and I think it needs an oil finish. I did try super glue, didn't turn out the way I wanted. Maybe a lighter oil as you suggest will work better. Thanks!

 

[Willie71]

I have wondered the same thing. I thought a lacquer finish might be the way to go. Without a sealer, the lacquer will soak into the wood rather than sit on top of it. I am going to try a wax finish as well. I'll report back as I get the two knives finished.

 

[Burl Source]

Take my advice with a grain of salt.
There are some woods that look white but an oil finish or stabilizing cause it to look amber.
BW Ebony and Buckeye are a couple.
I mostly make boxes so that is where my hands on experience comes from.
Penetrating finishes will cause the color change and surface finishes will maintain the true coloring.
On my boxes I use Deft brand aerosol lacquer. I get it at True Value for about $8 a can.
I spray a very light coat and let it dry, then repeat a few more times.
Then I rub the surface down with extrafine steel wool.
I blow off any dust with the air nozzle on my compressor.
Then a few more light coats followed by the steel wool again.
Finally I wax with Minwax paste wax and hand buff with an old t-shirt.

Not saying this is the best finish for a knife. Just something that works for me when making boxes.
Might work out for a light duty knife.

 

[Willie71]

Edit: I originally posted the Cactus Juice stabilized pieces darkened a lot, but after the surface stabilizing resin was sanded off, the color is only slightly darker than the original. I think this may be part of my solution. Once finished, I can wax the wood to protect the pores, and it should remain close to original color.

I used vacuum for 4h, until there was basically no air coming out of the wood, and the guage was the max vacuum I can pull here, then let it soak in the resin for 12h to absorb into the wood. There appears to be good penetration.

 

[phillipsted]

The few times I've use BW Ebony, I found that I was "contaminating" the white portions with dust sanded off of the dark parts. The black sawdust worked its way down into the grain of the white wood and was a bugaboo to get out. I ended up using tackcloth followed by an extended session of high pressure compressed air. Once the pores were cleaned out, the wood finished with a cleaner, less "muddy" look. I like to use Tru-Oil as well. By itself, it will turn the white sections a light amber. I have successfully minimized this coloring by starting the finish with an initial application of Tru-Oil Sanding Sealer - and then finishing up with top coats of regular Tru-Oil.

TedP