Food safe finish for wood

Gotta start this by saying my site is very, VERY DATED... :o It hasn't been changed since it was made, back then I was 26 and had hair... I'm 35 now and seemed to have misplaced my hair ;) I just went and looked at the construction page and see how someone would think all the natural materials I use are stabilized... but that is not what I meant to say, because some materials don't need to be, or can't be stabilized...

I have never heard of anyone successfully stabilizing Ironwood, where did you get it?

It's a short list of materials that the stabilizing guys won't do, and Ironwood is usually right at the top of the list.

Stabilizing wood doesn't actually seal it up like many folks think. The open pours remain... if you put a block of stabilized wood in a tub of water, it will soak it up until saturated. The big difference with a stabilized block though, is when you take it out of the water and put it on a dry surface, the water will leach back out. Also, the wood should be the same shape/dimensions as when it first went into the water.

These are more recent examples of my work, all in Ironwood... no stabilizing, or any other finish were added to these... just a lot of hand finishing work. :) A light coat of wax will help protect the wood from sunlight and oily hands.

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Thanks for charming in Nick. Your handles reign among the best IMO. Would you mind giving a quick description of your steps. What wax, what oil during hand sanding, how long between sanding, etc?

Thanks a bunch!

Btw just went back and checked the description where I purchased the wood. You are absolutely right, not stabilized. Not sure why I assumed it was, oops.

I got it from knifekits.com. I was putting an order in for kydex and decided to try out their wood. It's a very nice piece they sent me. I'll post some pics when I get around to finishing it.
 
Expert? I've never been accused of that before! :p

The thread in my sig line shows how I finish curly Koa.... but it's the way I do most wood handles. The big difference with Ironwood is I never put ANY oil on it. Ironwood turns dark with exposure to light, but most oils will make it dark almost immediately which will hide a lot of the beautiful figure and colors.

Some Ironwood I buff very very lightly after hand sanding, some I only hand finish (up to 4,000X 3M polishing cloth) because some pieces will get TOO glossy with a powered buff.
 
NickWheeler said:
Expert? I've never been accused of that before! :p

The thread in my sig line shows how I finish curly Koa.... but it's the way I do most wood handles. The big difference with Ironwood is I never put ANY oil on it. Ironwood turns dark with exposure to light, but most oils will make it dark almost immediately which will hide a lot of the beautiful figure and colors.

Some Ironwood I buff very very lightly after hand sanding, some I only hand finish (up to 4,000X 3M polishing cloth) because some pieces will get TOO glossy with a powered buff.
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Thanks again, Nick. Based on the pics I see on your site, I think 'expert' qualifies. :)

I'll have to try some of the high-grit sanding/buffing on mine. I've also got a few small slabs of ironwood, purchased at a knife/gun show many years ago, that I've never used for anything. At least one of them might be a good test subject to show me how it finishes & shines up.


David
 
Yep you are guilty, you dirty dirty expert. Lol

So you just sand it dry? Never would have guessed that.... Also the final coat of wax goes on by hand or with some abrasive?
 
I just finished reading through most of the thread in your sig. I must say all of my questions have been answered! That is perhaps one of the most informative threads I have ever had the pleasure of reading, purely awesome!
 
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