Handle Finish/Treatment

[Bill_Melater]

Do HI blades come treated or finished? The villager I got years back I could feel was just raw wood but the other two I have feel polished or maybe a hard wax finish? I'm curious so I know how to maintain the wooden handles.

 

[Bawanna]

I don't believe they are finished or treated. They are polished and I imagine they use a polishing compound of some sort. Yangdu would have the definitive answer on this. I usually apply linseed oil when I get them just to protect and nourish the wood.

 

[Bill_Melater]

I don't believe they are finished or treated. They are polished and I imagine they use a polishing compound of some sort. Yangdu would have the definitive answer on this. I usually apply linseed oil when I get them just to protect and nourish the wood.

I've been putting mineral oil on one of them (not terribly often) and just applied a bit to the others that feel polished and then had second thoughts since putting some of my pure Tung oil on them would have been better but now it may be too late.

 

[Yangdu]

https://himalayan-imports.com/Maintenance.html

 

[jfox95307]

here's a link to a thread I started in handle refinishing. some beautiful wood hiding under there in most cases.
I forgot about this thread

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-hidden-beauty-of-hi-handles.1704384/

 

[Bill_Melater]

Back on this topic: I have a villager model I've used mineral oil on for the handle over the years I've had it. Probably 2, maybe 3 applications over those years (it doesn't see much hard weather) but I recently read that mineral oil over time will soften the wood so I'd like to switch to an oil hat will polymerize like Tru Oil which I have on hand. Does anyone know if its possible to draw out the mineral oil or what might cause issues with the "laha" that are used in these handles?

 

[beestokk]

Back on this topic: I have a villager model I've used mineral oil on for the handle over the years I've had it. Probably 2, maybe 3 applications over those years (it doesn't see much hard weather) but I recently read that mineral oil over time will soften the wood so I'd like to switch to an oil hat will polymerize like Tru Oil which I have on hand. Does anyone know if its possible to draw out the mineral oil or what might cause issues with the "laha" that are used in these handles?

Following this thread - I've never heard of mineral oil softening wood, that's interesting - any recollection here you read that? Would be interested to explore that further.
I know many people, myself included, use boiled linseed oil for oiling axe, hatchet, tomahawk handles....that might be another good option for you, but not sure how to draw out the mineral oil if it's even possible...

 

[Bill_Melater]

Following this thread - I've never heard of mineral oil softening wood, that's interesting - any recollection here you read that? Would be interested to explore that further.
I know many people, myself included, use boiled linseed oil for oiling axe, hatchet, tomahawk handles....that might be another good option for you, but not sure how to draw out the mineral oil if it's even possible...

There's been some posts here on BladeForums but also a few other forums where it's been mentioned in topics about what oils to use on wood. Whether it's true or not, I cannot confirm but it did raise some red flags.

I normally use Tung or Tru oil on handles but back when I bought the one in question, I read about mineral oil to keep the wood hydrated. Made sense at the time but now I'd prefer to use a polymerizing oil so I don't know if it's too late or not. It might have to be something where I continue with mineral oil and then maybe use wax to keep out moisture?

 

[Same Old Shane]

Walnut oil ....on woods handles

Even olive oil.

If you prefer....a good finishing wax will do...but does not penetrate as well.

Mineral oil for horn.....or hoof flex.

Up here...we don't get a lot of humidity....handles do shrink ...

Sometimes.

I find the Himalayan woods to be fairly bulletproof....especially the walnut varieties...

There's a huge chunk of Himalayan bubinga or some such in my shop so dense and heavy.. it doesn't shift, change of crack ....just gorgeous.

I use coconut oil in bamboo root.

 

[stonefrog]

Do HI blades come treated or finished? The villager I got years back I could feel was just raw wood but the other two I have feel polished or maybe a hard wax finish? I'm curious so I know how to maintain the wooden handles.

As far as I know, when polishing the blade they run the same method over the wood as a light burnish, but there’s no real treatment like a varnish or oil or anything. I know much of the wood they use is fairly oily, when sanding, the dust tends to clump rather than blow away which indicates moisture.

You can read about various people’s treatments to the wood handles. I find the wood varieties used are both very forgiving and often very gorgeous. Personally I just rub a bit of mineral oil over the wood once a year with bare hands to keep it moist and call it good, but there’s been a couple gorgeous models I’ve received lately that I think deserve better treatment.

Either way, mineral oil is a fine thing to use on a working handle. I haven’t heard of it softening wood before but I don’t doubt it personally. Mineral oil doesn’t polymerize or dry, it just kind of lingers around and keeps the wood hydrated. Perfectly fine if you only occasionally treat the handle or don’t care about looks a lot.

For a more permanent or lustrous finish, you could sand off the outer layer of the handle (220 or 320 grit is plenty) then refine to 400 grit, apply Tung oil or Boiled Linseed Oil, wait for it to cure between 1-3 days, burnish that in with 600 grit, then apply more oil and repeat until it looks good. I’ve seen some amazing results come from this.

If you are interested in one of these oil finishes then you must get rid of the polished layer, or if you’ve applied it, mineral oil. As mentioned, mineral oil doesn’t really dry or polymerize, though it does evaporate or wear away given enough time and friction. Similarly the polishing method they use seals the grain somewhat and keeps oil from seeping in. Unless you soaked the handle for days, I’ve had perfectly fine results just sanding down the handle with 220 grit sandpaper and mineral spirits/acetone. If you have soaked the handle, just burnish it and leave it be. Mineral oil can be trivially easy to remove in light amounts but a bear to remove in excess, expending much mineral spirits and elbow grease, as you just have to do the same method prior with much more gusto. But even that soaking method is perfectly fine for something like a knife handle. Something like a table or shelf or heaven forbid a floor soaked with mineral oil is a totally different story.

Not speaking as any sort of wood authority, just from experience.

 

[Bawanna]

Your experience is same as mine. The polishing needs to be sanded. I prefer a finish that I can reapply and not seal the wood. I feel wood needs to be nourished and if it's sealed this can't happen.
I'm a big linseed user and often times just use Ballistol on both the blade and the handle. I took a couple cans down to Yangdu to apply when knives arrive to help prevent cracking. Forgot about the polishing needing to be removed so not sure she does that anymore. Most of the time the handles are beautiful as they arrive and can certainly be left that way until they don't.

 

[stonefrog]

Agreed about the natural beauty of the handles. Ballistol is splendid, I use it for anything where smell isn’t a concern. It works especially well on leather. I bought an old Swiss army belt that was so stiff it might as well have been made out of wood, but a few generous latherings of Ballistol had it looking better than when it was first made.

Quick ramble, I personally think sometimes folks can get a bit out of hand on treating natural materials like wood and horn and bone. I learned from an old aikido instructor that the best way to treat the grips on your swords and staves was with the oil on your hands. Sort of like how the best fertilizer for a garden are the gardener’s footsteps. Care and attention can go a very long way.

That said, I have a soft spot for things just plain looking nice, too! It just ain’t the end of the world if things aren’t given the white glove treatment.

 

[Bill_Melater]

First off, thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. Unfortunately there certainly seem to be a lot of different methods and theories around this and the more I read about the topic, the worse I make it for myself. It seems most of the debate bounces between polymerizing oil vs non-polymerizing. To me, it seems for outdoor use that polymerizing is a good idea to help keep out moisture. I've heard that Tung soaks in deeper but there seems to be debate over durability so I may open a whole other can of worms there especially when talking about naturally oily wood like rosewood.

Something Bawanna said stands out where the wood should not be sealed. Does Tru or Tung oil not seal the wood? A lot of other people assert that it's important to keep moisture out so sealing seems to make sense. Though I'm not looking to use anything like polyurethane.

 

[Bawanna]

In my own small mind and I work a lot of wood for pistol grips, handles, that sort of stuff. I believe wood needs to be hydrated. I don't think tung oil or linseed oil seal, Tru oil is a little different animal and I think has stuff in it that makes it dry and seal. The thing about sealing is you can't hydrate the wood, so it's dry inside. Oil saturates the wood and helps repel moisture. Oil the handle periodically and moisture won't be an issue.
I've seen vintage rifle stocks that still seemed nice on the inside but inside they were dry as a bone and the wood deteriorated.
On a knife handle oil from the hand would probably be enough to protect it for the average lifetime. There's lots of schools of thought. I like to go thru my knives and guns from time to time and oil or wax the blades and oil the handles. Most don't see much or any outside hard use but they are all holding up well.

 

[Bill_Melater]

In my own small mind and I work a lot of wood for pistol grips, handles, that sort of stuff. I believe wood needs to be hydrated. I don't think tung oil or linseed oil seal, Tru oil is a little different animal and I think has stuff in it that makes it dry and seal. The thing about sealing is you can't hydrate the wood, so it's dry inside. Oil saturates the wood and helps repel moisture. Oil the handle periodically and moisture won't be an issue.
I've seen vintage rifle stocks that still seemed nice on the inside but inside they were dry as a bone and the wood deteriorated.
On a knife handle oil from the hand would probably be enough to protect it for the average lifetime. There's lots of schools of thought. I like to go thru my knives and guns from time to time and oil or wax the blades and oil the handles. Most don't see much or any outside hard use but they are all holding up well.

I think any polymerizing oil will harden on the outside. I've used Tru oil on a few projects and I've used Tung oil to finish a stock. Both get that shiny and "finished" feel to them.

I think at some point I am overthinking this so, I'll just ask: does anyone see any reason I shouldn't use Tung oil on these blade handles? I just want to make sure that years down the road I won't be kicking myself.

 

[jfox95307]

hi
look through the thread that I linked above.
I finish my handles with formbys or another "tung oil" varnish. These aren't really tung oils.
these handles have held up for years.
just sand and hand rub the varnish to a high gloss.
don't over think too much.
read that thread and just do it!