Finishing East Indian Rosewood

imill3567

imill3567

Joined
Aug 5, 2014
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378
I got some East Indian Rosewood to rehandle an old butcher knife that belonged to my grandfather. I was thinking to finish it I would sand to high grit (2000?) and then buff in some finishing wax on the warm handle with a cloth or piece of leather, as I don't have a buffing wheel. Any other/better suggestions? Thanks!
 
That's pretty much the standard for any of the hard/oily woods. I haven't used East Indian but have used Bolivian. That's how I do it and it turns out nice.
 
hey imill,

You've got it! Your described method is golden and should turn out a very nice handle, go for it!
 
I've used much of Guatemalan Rosewood - much of it is fairly straight grain without much burl look. By shaping the handle in a "coke bottle" shape the grain will come out to be really nice. This turns a rather plain looking rosewood handle to a really nice look. Yep, just sanding to a fine grain, then a bit of wax to polish up. Looks really good and should give a LONG lasting handle without the expensive of stabilized wood.

Ken H>
 
Thanks for the replies, maybe eventually I can get some pics up when i finish it next weekish
 
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For that extra bit of shine, i like the poor mans buff. Basically you clamp the blade in the vice, then drape a soft lint free cloth over the wood so its hanging down on both sides and just pump! Rosewoods have so much oil in them that the heat of the friction will make the wood oil itself.
 
hellspawn415 said:
For that extra bit of shine, i like the poor mans buff. Basically you clamp the blade in the vice, then drape a soft lint free cloth over the wood so its hanging down on both sides and just pump! Rosewoods have so much oil in them that the heat of the friction will make the wood oil itself.
Click to expand...

ahhh... i have always refered to this method as the shoe-shine method. it's how i finish every handle, starting with a coarser grit paper and working to the desired finish then buffing with a cloth.

P.S. handle seemed to turn out great.
 
For most woods, I shave one part beeswax into five parts walnut oil and microwave to a liquid. Stir it until uniform, re-heat if needed and brush on the wood. I let the handle cool and harden for at least an hour and then rub off all the excess, buffing with a soft cloth. Save the leftovers and use over and over again. It gives a nice finish with protection.
 
We sand it, then wax it. I use Howard Feed-n-Wax. It fills the poores a bit more than straight furniture wax. Learned about that from a Texas knifemaker at the last Guild show.
 
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