First Opinel Mod

C

CO_EDC

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Oct 9, 2012
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So I got my dad, father-in-law, and Grandpa Opinels (two No 6 and one No 7) that I'm going to mod and give them all for father's day. I also got myself a No 8 to practice on.

Anyway, I'm going to:
Use a wood carver to add their initials and some designs
Patina the blade in different patterns
Propane torch to get more of a distressed look
Stain and poly the handle

My question is, if I take the knife apart and use Minwax stain and some polyurethane will that help seal the wood so it doesn't swell with humidity changes? I kept reading about people using mineral oil, BLO, and other oils, but will the poly work ok?

Thanks! Can't wait till they show up so I can get started!
 
I worry that the poly will cause it to get gummy in the pivot.
The Frenchmen I've heard of use melted Vaseline, Ballistol, mineral oil etc.
I think the moisture swelling is not as big of a deal with regular use and some oil.
 
Neko2 said:
I worry that the poly will cause it to get gummy in the pivot.
The Frenchmen I've heard of use melted Vaseline, Ballistol, mineral oil etc.
I think the moisture swelling is not as big of a deal with regular use and some oil.
Click to expand...

So maybe I will leave the knife put together and only stain and poly the handle? I could always use some Vaseline or something different on just the pivot area
 
I'm no expert but I'd probably do all the other stuff then soak the pivot overnight in mineral oil. It shouldn't hurt the finish or patina and will help with humidity change. Just make sure to clean all the excess off the lock ring or it'll get gritty pretty quick.
 
Neko2 said:
I'm no expert but I'd probably do all the other stuff then soak the pivot overnight in mineral oil. It shouldn't hurt the finish or patina and will help with humidity change. Just make sure to clean all the excess off the lock ring or it'll get gritty pretty quick.
Click to expand...

I think that's what I'll do. When I said "leave the knife put together and only stain and poly the handle" I meant everything below the lock ring. Then, like you said, I can just soak the pivot in mineral oil.
 
Skip the 'stain and poly' for the handle, and maybe try out just using 100% pure tung oil to finish it?
(personally, I like the effect it gives, and it helps seal it without the use of artificial/man-made products)

Be careful to avoid 'tung finish' or 'tung varnish' type mixtures... they often do this to reduce cost and/or to push the 'penetrating' properties.. I've always found the pure stuff works best in practice.
 
There's also products like "Tried and True" made of linseed and beeswax. Food safe and 100% natural. Walnut oil is another option and tends to polymerize a bit faster than tung.

I believe that the idea of mineral oil is to have a non drying oil that's always wet vs a drying oil that makes a solid polymer that is, similar in concept at least, to a poly finish.
The oils will eventually rub off but will allow the wood to gain a certain patina.

I guess it all depends on what your final idea is...
 
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