Finishing handle (M43), please help

wildmanh

wildmanh

Part time Leather Bender/Sheath maker
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Messages
7,764
Hi, I'm putting a finish on my new Kesar made M43 and would like some input. Here is the story: I cleaned the handle of my M43 with Murphy's oil soap yesterday and let it dry. Then I started rubbing tung oil into the wood. I probably put 10 to 15 coats on it last night and the oil is still being absorbed. So I guess my question is, after the wood stops absorbing the Tung oil and it dries, what is a good way to finish the wood to shine it up and such? Rubbing the wood with Steel wool? A soft cloth? Thanks in advance,
 
Heber, an oil finish (like paint, bluing on a gun, etc.) will only be as slick as the surface under the oil. On a scaled handle, you have to be very careful to do the lightest sanding and steel wooling possible, to shine and even the surface of the wood without bringing it below the level of the tang. After the oil you have on it now dries, steel wool it down to the wood, using very light pressure. You won't lose any sheen it has now, as the next coat will bring it right back. When you are down to the wood, and it is smooth, use pieces of kraft paper (brown paper bag) to shine the wood. Even though you think you are at "bare wood", there will still be some oil surface, and oil down in the pores. Then, put on one thin coat of oil, let it dry 'til it's hard (like two days), steel wool it again, and repeat the whole thing until you're satisfied with it. There isn't that much difference in Formby's Tung Oil and Tru Oil, as to finish and application. They are both tung-based, but with different additives, thinners, etc. The Tru Oil dries a bit faster for me, but the Formby's (on my cane, at least) seems to be a bit tougher. Each coat of oil fills in microscopic "valleys" on the surface. Each steel wooling knocks off the "peaks". When they meet in the middle, you will begin to get a spotty (at first) glass-like shine. If you've let the coats dry long enough in between, the "glass" look will cover the surface without being gummy, or looking thick, and the grain will light up like a fireworks display. The drying is the hard part :) Just set it down, and leave it alone!!!! When you get the urge to touch it, slap your hand!!! The tops of my hands are raw :D
 
Thanks for the info Wal, I thought it was a little simpler. This is going to be fun.:) I can't seem to find any steel wool here at home aside from some SOS pads. But, I do have some 3M brand Sand paper that says:

Code: 
3M              400
413Q            400
WETORDRY        400
TRI-M-ITE       400
Paper A wt. W2  400

Do you think it will work for the sanding? Oh yeah, and other sand paper that is courser.

Then, put on one thin coat of oil, let it dry 'til it's hard (like two days), steel wool it again, and repeat the whole thing until you're satisfied with it.
Click to expand...
Two days?:eek: Should keep me out of trouble for a while.:D
 
HEHEHE - The SOS is good for getting the oil off your hands when the handle is finished - you need 0000 steel wool for the in-between rubdowns. The papers you listed are all 400 grit, which is good. I use that, or 600 grit - not much difference once it has loaded up and worn a bit. The wet or dry automotive in either grit is just the ticket.
 
I just got done sanding and rubbing down the Karda and Chakma. Am trying it out on the Karda and Chakma before I do the main handle to be on the safe side. Now to apply the Tung Oil and wait.

---

Okay, I just coated the Karda and Chakma with Tung oil and noticed that it was absorbed rather fast. Is this normal or did I sand the wood to much? - I'm wondering if I should apply a few more coats of oil between sanding say untill the wood stops sucking it up so dang fast.
 
Another thing, I have had a strange erge to carve, sand and rub wood for the last week or so. It got so bad the other night, I had to pull out my Exacto knives and look for chunks of wood. Is there something wrong with me? I see wood and want to sand and rub it or worse, Carve it.:p:D hehe he he!
 
Heber, what brand/type of tung oil are you using? It sounds like it is as thin as lighter fluid, if it is soaked up that quickly. I'm probably forgetting what the humidity is out there - so dry that the chuckwallas fall off the trees and disappear in a puff of dust when they hit the ground. Are you running somewhere around 20% or less?

Carving is OK, so long as it isn't on your Mom's stuff (chairs, cabinets....) If the urge to carve is followed by an urge to gnaw, switch immediately to green, thin-barked wood. Lots more vitamins. DO NOT follow gnawing with a dip in the pond. This will cause Beaver Blight, and you'll eat the handles off your Khuks.:eek:
 
I'm using Formby's Tung Oil Finish Low gloss. Yes, it's really dry here in Central Utah and has been really cold (-7* I believe). The center of the valley has been down to -14*.

A few weeks ago I put a few coats of Tung oil on my GS so today I sanded it down put on another coat. Waited a few hours and sanded again. I think I'll go down and put another coat of oil on the handle then rub oil into the Karda's and chakma's again.:)

Carving is OK, so long as it isn't on your Mom's stuff (chairs, cabinets....) If the urge to carve is followed by an urge to gnaw, switch immediately to green, thin-barked wood. Lots more vitamins. DO NOT follow gnawing with a dip in the pond. This will cause Beaver Blight, and you'll eat the handles off your Khuks.
Click to expand...

Beaver Blight, never heared of it. Sounds fun.:D Just teasing:p. Hehe hehe hehe! Definantly time to rub more oil into the handles. Hehe hehe hehe (walks away laughing like Renfield:))
 
Beaver Blight can be a problem in a coed dorm, but we won't discuss it here:rolleyes: Don't discuss it with your Mom - she'll ground you 'til you're 40...or 50.

I've used the high gloss Formby's - the low gloss should show up the grain, but come out with a more subdued finish, along the lines of and English shotgun stock, or a rottenstoned oil finish. If the wood is taking in that much oil, keep at it, but just steel wool the surface lightly after each coat or pair of coats dries, if y think two are necessary. My villager has what looks like a rosewood handle, and it was thirsty, but not to the extent you describe. It finally drank its' fill, and the oil set up after I ignored it for about a week, and now it is taking a shine. Lots of patience needed with some of these woods, and no two pieces are alike. That is why finishing is an art, and can never become a science.
 
I haven't handled HI wood-hilts, but the forum says that the 'satisal' which is what the kamis use is a kind of mahogany, and that is a VERY porous grained wood indeed.
For a really nice finish on such wood I'd be inclined to do a 'sandpaper fill'. That is, you sand the wood wet with oil with a medium grit paper...180 finish grade is what I use...and let the sanding dust mix with first coats of oil. Three cycles of application, drying and resanding in this way will fill the pores nicely with a mixture of hard oil and wood fibers. Now the 'finish' coats can be applied...very thin coats of oil, let dry ,fine sand and then use the '4/0' steel wool that you can get in your hardware store. If you can buy Formby's products there, they are sure to have 0000 steel wool, because many of F's finish materials are applied with the stuff.
The wool will cut off the bumps and 'whiskers' left from the oil applications, and you'll get a smoother and smoother finish. Lastly, shoe-shining with coarse cloth and a sprinkle of rottenstone if you can find some in your paint department...and the result will be a great 'eggshell' semi-gloss. Done right, this is a hard and nearly impermeable finish.
Good luck!
Ken
 
gunhou - Your filling/polishing method is great, and may be what Heber needs on his scales - I never thought to ask him, just assumed they would be Saaitsal due to the kamis preference. Saatisal is an oak variety, not mahogany. It, like any oak, can have an open grain which usually fills well in the normal oiling process, but most of the cuts on my knives have been very dense, even though the grain pattern can vary widely (dark pinstripes to gold-flaked brown ribbons on a tan oak background). The shop (or the individual kamis, I suppose) buy pieces brought in by peddlers from the "wood people", and while they look for Saatisal, some interesting stuff crops up, some of it unidentifiable :D
 
..to pin down our Saatisal. There are two woods generally called "satisal" in Nepal - Dalbergia Latifola, described as a rosewood, and used in making furniture, and (deep breath) Dpterocarpus Marsupium, which isn't described in anything I've found so far, but is restricted from export as cut timber. In a county where everything has at least two names, except three or four kamis who have the same "no name", finding the description of a wood can be fun.......BERK - Help:confused:
 
Wow, thanks everybody for the great help.:) I might have to try Gunhou's filling/polishing method some time. Hey Wal, if it's alright with you, I'll email you some pics of the handles so you can see what I'm dealing with.
 
Could you post the pics so I can see em' too? I'm not sure what the finished result should look like.
 
Originally posted by Walosi
Pics Welcome :) Go for it!!
Click to expand...

Pics have been sent :) two pics of my M43 and two pics of my GS.

Could you post the pics so I can see em' too?
Click to expand...

I second that, would you post pics if possible? I would, but Geocities doesn't allow it. I got to run, need to make some calls. Will post more about the progress later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top