Handle finish question

M

MBurks

Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
272
I just finished putting scales on a knife, wenge scales, leather spacers.

The wenge is dried but not stabilized.

I used leather for spacers before and had a hard time keeping it from getting dirty during the sanding, so this time I have sanded to 400 grit and applied some tru oil hoping it will act as a grain filler for the leather, and in a couple days i will finish sanding to 1500 grit or so.

My question is, has anyone ever used wenge, and what sort of finish did you use?

It seems like a fairly dense closed grain wood but there also seems to be some very small, open lines in it, not exactly pores but not exactly cracks either.

Seems like it splinters very easy as well so i would like a pretty durable finish that doesn't look like crap.
 
I like cyanoacrylate (CA, superglue) for porous woods. Get very close to final size, apply glue, let set and fine sand.
 
Matt River said:
I like cyanoacrylate (CA, superglue) for porous woods. Get very close to final size, apply glue, let set and fine sand.
Click to expand...

I've done exactly 1 ca finish and it turned out good, but that was bubinga, i was kinda worried with the little "cracks" it might look funny but I have plenty of ca so I will give it a shot.

Thanks for the help!
 
Oh yeah, I'm at 400 grit now, gotta let the tru oil sit for a couple days.

The progression I've been using is 400, 600, 800, 1000 and then 1500, would it be best to put it on after 800 or after 1000?

I haven't been going past 1500 on handles although I do sometimes use some 0000 steel wool.
 
Wenge ( pronounced when-gay) is a nice looking wood that takes a great shine. It needs no finish to shine, but it usually needs some sort of sealer to fill the pores and cracks. The leather needs a sealer to harden it and make it shiny. CA is the man for that job.

Here is what I do on handles like yours:
Sand the handle to its basic finished shape in 120-220 grit belts.
Apply a flood coat of thin CA to seal the pores and soft things like the leather. Repeat as needed to get it filled. Let dry 24 hours.
Sand to 400 grit and refine the shape to its final form. Everything should be shaped as you want it now.
Flood with thin CA again, making sure you completely fill all pores and cracks. Let dry 24 hours.
Sand to 800 grit. Check for any newly exposed cracks and pores. Fill these with thin CA if needed.
Sand to 1000/1500/2000 ( whatever you like) and check the surface carefully for any pores/cracks that still need filling. Wipe off with a clean paper towel moistened with denatured alcohol, let dry, and check again. Touch up with thin CA as needed.
Re-sand with the 1000/1500/2000if you had any touch-ups. Check the surface closely for any missed spots of CA. All the resin should all be sanded off the surface.
Polish with white rouge or no-scratch pink, or hand polish with 3M papers. The colored papers go from 400 grit to 8000 grit and are superb for handle polishing. I drop back to the green sheet ( about 400) and go up through grey-blue-pink-mint-white. It goes very fast, because the handle is already smooth and ready for polishing. At that point the handle should have a lovely 8000 grit shine. Touch-up in the future is fast with the 3M papers, and can be done in just a minute or two.

The main point of handle finishing is to have the finish IN the wood, not ON it. There should be no surface CA left when you are done with the sanding and polishing.
 
Thanks Stacy, from the other CA finish I did I got the feeling it should have been done in stages.

Great info thanks again!
 
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