How Do I Fix My Handle Screwup and Make Polished Beauties

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Mar 7, 2002
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Ok, I lined 5 of my HI Khuks up last night to turn the handles into the polished beauties that I have seen people do here. 3 12" AK's, 1 15" Sirupate, and my 18" Chitlange.The only thing that I have ever put on my handles was mineral oil which I saturate and let soak in. So I read somewhere that you could use boiled linseed oil. I soaked them down and they looked great but I thought that I could let it soak in over night and when I went to check on them it was a sticky gummy mess. I didn't know how it dried and that you had to wipe it off. So my question now is, how do I get all of this gunk off and then what do I put on them and how do I polish them up. These AK's are all villager models that I am trying to fix up for Christmas presents. I've been storing them until the kids got a little older.
 
Gosh!
I wish steve ferguson was here right now, I'm pretty sure he'd know exactly what to do.
But I'm not as good a woodchuck as others here and you should wait a little and see if someone with a bit more experience in this chimes in.

Until then....here are some ideas:
http://www.sailingtalks.com/forums/gear/11335-how-to-remove-toothick-linseed-oil.html

I will do a searh here and see if i can find anything else.
Edit: nothing about removal...but various good tips on finishing:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371806&highlight=boiled+linseed+oil
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370677&highlight=boiled+linseed+oil
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=434755&highlight=boiled+linseed+oil
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260373&highlight=boiled+linseed+oil
 
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All is not lost. :)

First, tape the blade edge so you don't cut yourself while handling the khuk. :eek: You can also tape the bolster so you don't scratch it up.

I'd try using a solvent like paint thinner, mineral spirits, or acetone to clean the excess off. Read the safety precautions on the can. Also, rags with linseed oil on them can spontaneously combust.

To get a good finish, the wood should be sanded first, starting with 220, then 320, then 400. After sanding, I would clean with your solvent again to get the mineral oil off the outside layer.

Put a thin coat of the linseed oil on the wood. After 10 minutes or so, wipe the excess off with a cloth. Let dry at least 24 hours, maybe more if it's cool where you are.

When the oil has dried completly, burnish with 0000 steel wool. Then coat again, wipe off, etc. Repeat as many times as you wish.

You can use the same process with other products like Watco Danish Oil, Tung Oil, Tru-Oil, and others. If you use very thin coats, you can skip the wiping off step. I use Tru-Oil, by Birchwood Casey that is found in stores that sell sporting goods. It's used on gunstocks. It's mostly linseed oil with chemicals added to speed drying time.

Good luck!
Steve

Hilt.jpg
 
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Yes, THANK YOU STEVE !!!
I try to help, but your experience is invaluable.
I can seee myself in that handle!!!!
 
Thanks for instructions and links. I'm going to give it a try and hope for better results this time. I'll try to post pics of the results.
 
All is not lost. :)

You can use the same process with other products like Watco Danish Oil, Tung Oil, Tru-Oil, and others. If you use very thin coats, you can skip the wiping off step. I use Tru-Oil, by Birchwood Casey that is found in stores that sell sporting goods. It's used on gunstocks. It's mostly linseed oil with chemicals added to speed drying time.

Nice to know that I'm not confined to Tru-Oil, which I don't have. I used olive oil, when I polished up my M43. Made it darker, sure, but still looks pretty nice.
 
mineral oil is good for cutting boards, because it is nontoxic. It never dries.
You need to get the mineral oil off before finishing the handles. I'd use a solvent, followed by light sanding - as recommended above.
Personally, I like to use Watco natural oil finish. If I want a shinier finish, you can follow with lots of others, like a wiping varnish - either a natural one or a poly wiping varnish.
Linseed oil finishes look great, but are more work. They are not as durable as varnish finishes, but are easy to fix.
Whatever you decide to use, it speeds things up to start with something like Watco.
 
Thanks for the excellent reminders Steve:)
and very helpful links Karda, and all the other useful wood care tips, fella's.

Mark
 
Don't forget to look into the "tips & Tricks" sticky, for Uncle Bill's classic oil-and-Armor-All formula!
 
I had something that I started wondering about and wanted to ask about before I refinish these handle. Is boiled linseed oil suitable for for use on knives that will be used for food prep or processing animals. These will still be users not for looks so I thought that I better make sure.
 
I had something that I started wondering about and wanted to ask about before I refinish these handle. Is boiled linseed oil suitable for for use on knives that will be used for food prep or processing animals. These will still be users not for looks so I thought that I better make sure.
I've read that boiled linseed is safe for food prep, i've also read that it is not safe. It has solvents added to speed drying time. Raw linseed oil can take days or weeks to dry depending on how heavy you apply, but is food safe.
Boiled linseed oil is probably fine for the handles, but i'd make sure to wash the blade before any food prep use.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26893
http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/wood-finishes/wood-oils/boiled-linseed-oil.htm
 
I've read that boiled linseed is safe for food prep, i've also read that it is not safe. It has solvents added to speed drying time. Raw linseed oil can take days or weeks to dry depending on how heavy you apply, but is food safe.
Boiled linseed oil is probably fine for the handles, but i'd make sure to wash the blade before any food prep use.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26893
http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/wood-finishes/wood-oils/boiled-linseed-oil.htm
for food safe useage You could look into using stand oil found at the art store. its linseed oil that has been partly oxidized by sitting in still air. they are fast drying, same sheen as boiled linseed and most brands are free of dryers and solvents.
 
I hate to be a thread necromancer, but I've been looking over this thread sooo many times wondering this question: what kind of wood is the handle on the above kukri made of?
I ask because I've done several coats of Tung Oil on my satisal wood handled 15" AK but it always ends up dark... I'm thinking that perhaps Steve's is made of Cocobolo? If it's regular old satisal, I'm thinking I should order up some BC Tru-Oil and start over
 
Killa
Not sure but even polished up its a bit redder and lighter than any Cocobolo I've ever seen. Most of the cocobolo I use tends to run towards the purple'ish color range. Please don't get me started on a cocobolo Khuk I dearly want an M43 in cocobolo but I am unwilling to ask because the allergic reactions I have seen to it are pretty bad even if they are rare

The attached photo is all cocobolo except the body of the yangiba but its bolster is cocobolo.
 

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Turpentine will thin it out for removal, and it's not petroleum based. Tung oil is better than linseed oil. Linseed only gives about a 15% seal against moisture.
Tung gives about 80% seal and is the most water, rot, and insect resistant of ALL the oil finishes. You can make it as shiny or dull as you want, and anything in between. Linseed also will sweat out when hot. Tung doesn't. Tung oil polymerizes in the wood and won't sweat out when hot like linseed does.
Tung oil also hardens the wood, much like resin impregnation does. If you can get hold of a 100% wool blanket or cloth that you don't mind sacrificing, you can use it to buff the tung oil once you're done. I use from 5 to 10 coats of tung when refinishing gun stocks. It's a very durable finish that's easy to repair, if necessary.
If you want to stain the wood, you'll have to do so before you apply the tung, as stain won't penetrate tung oil. It will penetrate linseed oil. That's one reason linseed is popular, because you can stain through it.
You can apply a coat or two of boiled linseed oil, then stain it if it's not dark enough for your tastes, and THEN start applying tung oil.
I usually wait overnight to 24 hours between coats of tung oil
If you cut the tung oil with turpentine, you can get it to penetrate deeper and faster before polymerization occurs.

BTW, use 0000 steel wool after sanding, to get the wood even smoother. It microplanes the surface, thus removing little "whiskers" of wood fibers left by sanding.
Use 000 steel wool between coats, just like with linseed.
Tun oil gives a grippy surface, regardless of level of sheen, once cured, and doesn't sit on the surface like linseed will.
 
Killa
Not sure but even polished up its a bit redder and lighter than any Cocobolo I've ever seen. Most of the cocobolo I use tends to run towards the purple'ish color range. Please don't get me started on a cocobolo Khuk I dearly want an M43 in cocobolo but I am unwilling to ask because the allergic reactions I have seen to it are pretty bad even if they are rare

The attached photo is all cocobolo except the body of the yangiba but its bolster is cocobolo.

Yeah - I'm fairly certain that satisal isn't a specific wood but instead the Nepalese term for "rosewood". Since rosewood describes several different kinds of richly hued woods, khukris marked "satisal" could be from any number of tree species within the rosewood family (or other species that have similar qualities). Perhaps steve fergeson's handle was a different species of wood but still in the rosewood family? Or perhaps it was just the usual species marked satisal but he lucked out on acquiring one with that very rich red hue? Only owning one satisal wood handled kukri, I can't really gauge the range of hues that such wood handles come in...

As for cocobolo, I believe there's a large range of hue in the wood: I've seen cocobolo as yellow-ish orange, reddish brown, deep purple, and fairly bright red. I think the bright red is probably pretty sought after and is personally what I think of when I see cocobolo mentioned. It seems to me that linseed/tung finishes tend to bring out the contrast in grain as well as the color in the wood. If the handle was a fair red to begin with, I can see the finish + high gloss + "see-through-glass" coating method + strong natural light accounting for the very bright red pictured.

Personally, when I hear cocobolo though, I think of a color somewhere along these lines (which is what made me inquire as to whether that was the handle material in steve's khuk):
CocoboloRosewood.jpg

1911CompactCocobolo4.thumb.jpg
 
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killa,
I guess what I was trying to say is the color wasn't "deep" enough. The folders in my photo are cocobolo and run from yellow almost a pine color to almost black in the same scale. It might just be the pieces I'm looking at but I'm used to cocobolo's grain pattern being more sharply defined but the pieces I use I do tend to hand pick for those characteristics. Nice grips on the .45! I may have to make some for mine week after next:D
 
I use a lot of cocobolo and it is all very reddish-orange in hue.

Steve's khuk is satisal, the grain gives it away.
 
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