Finishing wood handles

Darrel Ralph

Darrel Ralph

Joined
Dec 14, 1998
Messages
4,870
Lets start this post about finishing wood handles on full tang knives. It will be good to here the different methods that are being used. What do you use as a finish also oil spray ect. How do you do your finish? Does the wood shrink?
Any comments

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The first 2 knives I made I used the superglue trick I found in Bob Engnath's catalog. It worked well, but it does make the wood look and feel like plastic, so I stopped.
Now I use a carnuba wax/oil/solvent glop my dad made. The trick is to use a blowdryer to warm up the wood, apply the glop and rub in well and heat with the blow dryer....let it soak in, repeat 4 or 5 times. Hand buff it up and its perfect. The only drawback is that it does darken the wood a little (but so does everything else).

Can't speak of shrinkage yet as my oldest self-constructed blade is a little more than a year old
 
I originaly did woodworking before finding greater pleasure with knives. The best wood carvers swear by only one treatment for their work... Shoe polish. So that's what I use for most handles. I will occasionaly do a few applications of shoe polish then finish with a furniture wax if I want the handle super shiny.

Steve
 
I, like Steveba, also did woodworking, and still do on occasion. With that, I have used everything from tung oil to danish oil finish(Watco) and even neutral shoe polish. When I made my first kit knife a few years back, Ed Thuesen, former proprietor of Texas Knifemakers Supply recommended that I use a product called "Fix-It" instead of the "usual" wood finishes that I was familiar with. Ed's argument was that tung oil and the others were OK on furniture and such but would not hold up as well on a knife handle. I don't know if that holds true or not since I have used nothing but the stuff since I have had nothing but good luck with it.

This is an acrylic based product that is used to "fix" ceramics. You spray it on coat after coat until the grain in the wood is not dimpled. After the last coat cures overnight buff it off with CR. The first time I did this, I thought that I really mucked up the whole works. The stuff comes off in globs! After the "globs" are buffed off, all of the grain is sealed and it buffs out rather nicely. This stuff really seals the wood. I believe that Texas Knifemaker's Supply still carries it.

Now, if the truth be known, I prefer not to work with wood as far as knives are concerned unless it is really just a beautiful piece of wood. I much prefer stag or water buffalo as far as natural materials go. The reason is the finishing process. Once the horn material is sanded and buffed, the knife is finished. Wood HAS to be sealed to be properly finished. It just adds that much more time unless the wood has been stabilized, then its just sand and buff.

CLWilkins
 
I've been using Formbey's tongue oil. Three to five coats.Using 0000 steel wool between each coat. And then buffing the last coat with a loose cotton wheel. Comes out real nice and natural looking. If I want a deep look to it I'll put on a couple of coats of True oil. ( the same stuff they use on gun stocks) Then I'll hit it with the buffing wheel again. I've tried the super glue and didn't like the plastic look either. My oldest knife is about two years old with a black walnut handle and haven't noticed any shrinkage yet. One knife with the tongue oil and true oil has been used for about a year as a fishing knife. In and out of salt and fresh water and heavily abused. And is still perfoming well. I'm still trying to get the owner to take better care of it, but it is his knife to do with what he wants. Then again, its a good testing ground to see how my knives hold up under masive punishment. So far so good!
Dave Gladden
 
One other thing since we are on the topic. Have any of you guys used wood bleach on the darker woods like desert ironwood or cocobola so they won't darken as bad with age? If so, what are your thoughts?

CLWilkins
 
Darrel,
As far as shrinkage goes, I could see that if a piece of wood is not thoroughly dry that this could possibly happen, especially on a large piece of wood. I just cut up a mesquite burl last weekend that I had cut from a friend's ranch three years ago. I cut some scale size pieces and placed them in the back seat of my car so they would dry out in the warm car when I went to work. I live in Houston and do not do this in the summertime, I may come out to find some mesquite charcoal! After the wood sat in my garage for 3 years or so, I still had some checking after leaving it in my car for a day. So to answer your question, I could see this possibly happening, especially with a large piece of wood. Have you thought of a moisture meter? These are available from any of the woodworking supply houses, such as Woodcraft. As mentioned in my post, I have used "Fix-it" with a good deal of success to seal the wood.

CLWilkins
 
I have found that the safest way to go is to use wood that has been previously cut fairly close to the dimension you need and has set at least 90 days after purchase. When you start to cut into large pieces, the moisture content varies throughout. As for finish, I used to use tung oil a lot, but have swithced to a good, hard wax. If I need to darken it, I will use a little beeswax mixed with stain. I too heat the wood slightly and put on multiple coats.

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Ron Ruppé
www.ruppe.com/Knives/index.htm
 
I'm going to get around to building a dry box out of an old refrigerator with a flue on the top and a flue on the bottom containing a light bulb. Need a thermostat to cycle the bulb on and off to maintain about 80 degrees in the box.

In the meantime I have been dipping the ends of the handle scales in a paint bucket to discourage end checking. I then cross stack them behind the filter in the central heat/ac chase. Good dry place with lots of circulation.

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Ben R. Ogletree, Jr.
 
I'm in the process of setting up a vacuum/pressurization chamber to try and stabilize some of the wood I've got. Heard that Wildwood is charging $18 per lb. FINISHED PRICE!, & you know how heavy that stuff is once it's impregnated. If my mad science experiment works out, I'll post the results.
Harry Jensen
Fresno, CA
 
I've been finishing wooden handles with a good coating of oil then heating the wood with a heat gun and melting pure beexwax into the wood. Then once it's about hardened I polish it out with a soft rag. This really brings out the grain and is pretty waterproof.

I picked this tip up from Chas over on rec.knives.

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www.wilkins-knives.com


 
I've been using Watco Danish Finish oil (natural). After applying several coats I let it dry. Then apply Watco Satin Finishing Wax and buff by hand with a piece of wool cloth. I have run water over the handle and it will bead up.I have use these products over 3 years. After i install the handles i sand them down to 220 grit, then put them into a small oven box with a light bulb around 70 degrees for a week, then finsh sanding before applying the Watco finish.

[This message has been edited by RDF (edited 26 April 1999).]
 
I hate to come in late on this topic, but I had to reply. C L and I shop at the same place. Those folks at Texas Knifemakers Supply are great, aren't they C L. I too use Fix-It - this stuff is great! It buffs to a "hand rubbed" finish or it is possible to buff a high shine.
The only problem I have had is with swelling on American walnut. I don't know if this because the wood was too dry before the application of the Fix-It or if perhaps too much Fix-It soaked in.
 
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