Finishing Wenge...

[Binalith]

i've done some searches here and a fair amount of googling but haven't found exactly what i'm looking for. I am handling a bread knife in wenge for an xmas gift. i want to leave it as natural as possible and i want to keep it food grade. is it ok if i just go with multiple coats of mineral/butcher block oil on this stuff? thanks.

 

[HallHandmade]

I'd go with something like tung oil first. There two colors of grain are different in density and the light brown section needs sealing IMO.

I used to use Wenge when I built guitars, and untreated Wenge would soil quickly. My personal guitar has Wenge with tung oil and looks near new 15 years later.

 

[zhyla]

Wenge has a lot of deep pores that IMHO need to be filled prior (or after) to an oil finish. Otherwise it will feel a little rough and stuff will get in them. My experience with wenge is also from instrument building and I used french polish (shellac) which I wouldn't recommend for a knife handle. I've heard CA glue and certain epoxies can work for something like this and a transparent grain filler is the way to go for this wood.

Let's see the result when it's done!

 

[Binalith]

thanks for the replies guys. I had thought that tung oil wasn't really ideal for food prep? And I was thinking about going the super glue route, and this may be another thread, but do I just wipe it on after I reach my desired level of sanding? thanks.

 

[zhyla]

I had thought that tung oil wasn't really ideal for food prep?

Actual tung oil itself is food safe. Be careful though, you'll run across "tung oil finish" products that are actually BLO with lots of other chemicals added in. I'm not sure food safety is all that important for a knife handle though, it's not a cutting board we're talking about. As far as being ideal, I don't know. Tung oil takes a lot of patience and coats to get a thick finish and sometimes you'll think it will never dry.

And I was thinking about going the super glue route, and this may be another thread, but do I just wipe it on after I reach my desired level of sanding? thanks.

I think you're going to do quite a bit of sanding afterward. I think I would sand to 220, apply the glue, then after it's dried sand down the glue drops that got everywhere. Then sand until the grain fill bits look like glass instead of scratched glue (~600 grit). I've done this to fill gaps around inlays and it works fine. Since you're filling much smaller holes it probably doesn't matter too much what you do as long as the glue gets in there.

 

[elementfe]

Interesting.
The knife that never seems to leave my cutting board here at home is a prototype of my 6" chef. When I made it I was doing a lot of oak handles, and using teak oil. I noticed that the teak oil was just sitting on the surface of the wenge when it was sanded to 400 for a working finish, so I skipped it for the next batch.
What I'm getting at is that without ANY added finish, besides the oils it picks up in use, this handle appears to be completely stable, has just a bit of grip (smooth and polished isn't ideal for a working knife) and has gone to a nice even dark brown.
I think it's ideal for working kitchen knife handles as is.
If you're doing a gift or perhaps a collector knife that won't be used much, that's a different matter.

 

[Burl Source]

Like Ian mentioned, there is a big difference in the hardness of the different colored areas.
My suggestion would be to use one of the hard drying oil blends to finish the handle.
I like Watco brand Danish Oil but that is just what I am accustomed to using.
If you want to fill the pores for a smoother surface use a sanding sealer first followed by multiple coats of the finish.
Let the finish dry between coats so you don't end up with a gummy mess.
Just my 2 cents.