Handle finishing Oils

Diego_B

Diego_B

Joined
Aug 17, 2020
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260
Really quick but where do you guys get your tung oil for handles and what kind/brand? I understand that you there is a certain type of tung oil that is suitable for knives and if I am correct it is "Pure Tung oil"?

What about those of you that work with Tru-Oil? I haven't used the stuff in a while since I work with mostly oily dense woods, but do you guys thin the stuff down before using? I find that it comes pretty thick if used by itself and It seemed that it had trouble absorbing into the wood. If I remember I think I was thinning it with mineral spirits with a 1:3 ratio. Does this sound right?
 
I've used so many freaking oils over time, and honestly, tru oil is my favorite. If I have a wood I think will really absorb it yes ill thin it with like equal part mineral spirits and I'll also use that thinner version if I'm wet sanding with it to fill the grain as well. The biggest thing with tru oil is it takes time, its not a 2 coats and done thing. a few tips- do wet sand open grain woods or use ca glue to fill the grain first, you want a very smooth finish before you start, use fingers to apply a thin coat then take armor all original and spray it on, rub that all over then take a cloth and buff excess off. Something in armor all causes the tru oil to cure so doing it this way you can apply coats like every 15 minutes vs 4 hours. Also, tru oil never seems to cure for me on oily woods like cocobolo, personally, I think something like cocobolo doesnt need a real finish anyway( I have a few kitchen knives that still look great) but yeah for oily woods skip the tru oil it won't ever cure it stays tacky. also get the small bottle and dont open the foil seal, just poke a tiny hole this stuff goes a long way and will last if you dont fully open it
 
PURE tung oil is a wonderful natural oil to finish handles with IMO. The downside is it takes time….a long time… to apply & build up effective. I haven’t made a lot of knives, but I’ve done a bunch of milsurp gunstock revivals & refinishes. I’m probably in the minority in prefering it over BLO, but I think it provides a superior finish thst is worth the extra dry times and buildups. It can be thinned with mineral spirits to get better first-coat penetration. YMMV.
 
Tuhlmann said:
PURE tung oil is a wonderful natural oil to finish handles with IMO. The downside is it takes time….a long time… to apply & build up effective. I haven’t made a lot of knives, but I’ve done a bunch of milsurp gunstock revivals & refinishes. I’m probably in the minority in prefering it over BLO, but I think it provides a superior finish thst is worth the extra dry times and buildups. It can be thinned with mineral spirits to get better first-coat penetration. YMMV.
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So how are all these makers using pure tung oil getting by so quickly with building up coats? Or are they just actually letting them sit in their shop for months waiting to dry? What about other tung oils besides "Pure" tung oil? How do they work for knife handles?
 
I believe a lot of people think the way to use tung is to put a coating on the wood every hour or two for a couple days, let it “dry“ a couple more days and call it good, but if you want the true benefit that’s not the way to go.
 
Many, many years ago I started with Watco Danish oil. Eventually over the years I tried just about everything, Tru oil, Tung oil, Teak oil and some other gunstock finishes as well. Been back to Danish oil for many years now and a great many knives.
 
I use the wood river tung oil as well. I rub a coat on, let sit for 20-30 minutes, and then buff off with paper towel. I do a couple coats during an evening and that usually suffices for my needs. I use it on Micarta and synthetic handles, too as well as wood. I don't go for a glossy/wet/plastic look, more to soak in and darken the material. Works great on Micarta and G10 to get a nice look without the buffed shiny look. I find it also works pretty good as a cleaner to get dust and gunk off of a handle.
 
Horsewright said:
Many, many years ago I started with Watco Danish oil. Eventually over the years I tried just about everything, Tru oil, Tung oil, Teak oil and some other gunstock finishes as well. Been back to Danish oil for many years now and a great many knives.
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If I may ask, why did you go back to Danish oil and what do you like about it?
 
Someone here posted they use Tru-Oil applied with coffee filters. I’ve been doing that for a while now, usually about 12 coats, letting it dry anywhere from 1-4 hours between coats.
 
Skiller1nc said:
I've used so many freaking oils over time, and honestly, tru oil is my favorite. If I have a wood I think will really absorb it yes ill thin it with like equal part mineral spirits and I'll also use that thinner version if I'm wet sanding with it to fill the grain as well. The biggest thing with tru oil is it takes time, its not a 2 coats and done thing. a few tips- do wet sand open grain woods or use ca glue to fill the grain first, you want a very smooth finish before you start, use fingers to apply a thin coat then take armor all original and spray it on, rub that all over then take a cloth and buff excess off. Something in armor all causes the tru oil to cure so doing it this way you can apply coats like every 15 minutes vs 4 hours. Also, tru oil never seems to cure for me on oily woods like cocobolo, personally, I think something like cocobolo doesnt need a real finish anyway( I have a few kitchen knives that still look great) but yeah for oily woods skip the tru oil it won't ever cure it stays tacky. also get the small bottle and dont open the foil seal, just poke a tiny hole this stuff goes a long way and will last if you dont fully open it
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That last tip is a great idea. I had to throw away a bottle after using less than half because it kept hardening a bit more each time I used it until I couldn't get to the oil at the bottom. I ended up cutting the bottle in half to get to the oil at the bottom to use it one last time before I threw it away lol

I'll have to try that Armor All trick too.
 
Diego_B said:
If I may ask, why did you go back to Danish oil and what do you like about it?
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Diego_B said:
If I may ask, why did you go back to Danish oil and what do you like about it?
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I work with a wide variety of woods. I found some of the other oils work well with some woods and not with others. Danish oil works with bout everything. The only wood I don't use it on is ironwood. But I do use it (wet sand) on woods that some oils simply wouldn't dry on such as rosewood, cocobolo etc. Also much less labor intensive. Much less cleanup on tangs etc. It works and it works in a wide variety of temps, others don't.
Michael Black said:
That last tip is a great idea. I had to throw away a bottle after using less than half because it kept hardening a bit more each time I used it until I couldn't get to the oil at the bottom. I ended up cutting the bottle in half to get to the oil at the bottom to use it one last time before I threw it away lol

I'll have to try that Armor All trick too.
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Many folks will add glass marbles to a bottle of Tru Oil once its been open. This raises the fluid level in the bottle as the oil is used thus limiting how much air there is to turn your oil to gunk.
 
To make Trueoil last, I punch a small hole into the foil. Before threading on the cap, I put a doubled up piece of cling wrap over the top. I have a bottle that is about three years old and still good. I only use the stuff maybe once or twice a year, not really a big fan of it.
 
Finishing oils are something everyone has opinions and thoughts about, I will try to give a description of what a lot of these products are, and some thoughts on them

First, why are these oils different from mineral/ vegetable oil? They are drying oils. But in this context, drying does not mean changing through evaporation, it refers to the fact that the long chain fatty acids in these oils can chemically react with oxygen. In the case of linseed and danish oil, α-linolenic acid can react with oxygen to create a crosslinked polymer, basically a form of soft plastic. Naturally, this process is VERY slow, on the orders of several weeks to cure a film. So linseed oil is "Boiled" which is an old time term for having "Drying agents" added, which typically means metal salts which act to catalyze the reaction and make it go faster.

Tung oil is made of a mix of alpha linolenic acid along with alpha-eleosteric acid, another drying oil that reacts much more quickly. Pure tung oil will dry in a reasonable amount of time, but most things sold as "tung oil finish" that do not say "Pure tung oil" are going to be a mix of tung oil, linseed oil, varnish and other compounds.

Danish oil, tru-oil and other branded finishing oils are just that, oil blends with metal drying agents, varnishes, solvent thinners and other compounds to speed up the curing time. This means you can start building a finish much more quickly. A pure tung oil coat will need about 5-15 days to properly cure depending on temperature. Using solvents and drying agents that can come down to 2-3 days.

As a general rule, oil finishes work great on lighter woods to bring out a lot of golden color and figure, but on darker woods or naturally colored woods like bastonge walnut, amboyna or figured ebony, over time they can darken the figure and make the colors look more muted. This can be reduced by careful finish building and polishing, but in general I prefer a wax finish on these darker woods.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
Finishing oils are something everyone has opinions and thoughts about, I will try to give a description of what a lot of these products are, and some thoughts on them

First, why are these oils different from mineral/ vegetable oil? They are drying oils. But in this context, drying does not mean changing through evaporation, it refers to the fact that the long chain fatty acids in these oils can chemically react with oxygen. In the case of linseed and danish oil, α-linolenic acid can react with oxygen to create a crosslinked polymer, basically a form of soft plastic. Naturally, this process is VERY slow, on the orders of several weeks to cure a film. So linseed oil is "Boiled" which is an old time term for having "Drying agents" added, which typically means metal salts which act to catalyze the reaction and make it go faster.

Tung oil is made of a mix of alpha linolenic acid along with alpha-eleosteric acid, another drying oil that reacts much more quickly. Pure tung oil will dry in a reasonable amount of time, but most things sold as "tung oil finish" that do not say "Pure tung oil" are going to be a mix of tung oil, linseed oil, varnish and other compounds.

Danish oil, tru-oil and other branded finishing oils are just that, oil blends with metal drying agents, varnishes, solvent thinners and other compounds to speed up the curing time. This means you can start building a finish much more quickly. A pure tung oil coat will need about 5-15 days to properly cure depending on temperature. Using solvents and drying agents that can come down to 2-3 days.

As a general rule, oil finishes work great on lighter woods to bring out a lot of golden color and figure, but on darker woods or naturally colored woods like bastonge walnut, amboyna or figured ebony, over time they can darken the figure and make the colors look more muted. This can be reduced by careful finish building and polishing, but in general I prefer a wax finish on these darker woods.
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Thank you Dr.
 
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