How many coats of boiled linseed oil?

ac700wildcat · Jan 21, 2012

I'm just finishing up my first axe project and am wondering how many coats of boiled linseed oil I should put on my new hickory handle? So far I've put on three coats. For each coat I put the oil on fairly thick and let it soak in for a couple minutes After letting it soak in I wipe it off and let it dry for a couple hours. The last coat was put on around 24 hours ago. Should I do anymore, or should it be good to go?

dantzk8 · Jan 21, 2012

I put a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine (about 50/50). The turpentine helps the oil to go deeper in the grain and it dries more quickly. However the three coats you have put should be enough. You just now have to wait it dries, it can take time with pure linseed oil.

dantzk.

camoninja · Jan 21, 2012

I'm no expert but I think I read on here to keep coating until the wood doesnt soak up anymore oil.

cooperhill · Jan 21, 2012

Prefer semi- frequent light linseed coats. I soak the heads after initial hanging and sometimes put linseed on top and allow to soak in. Got the idea from 'creek on BushcraftUSA.

trailmaker · Jan 21, 2012

I usually put two or three coats on initially. Any more and the finish becomes tacky/gummy which I don't like. I soak the tops like cooperhill showed in his photos.

ac700wildcat · Jan 21, 2012

Thanks for the help. The handle isn't tacky to the touch at all right now, but does still smell like the oil quite a bit. I did the same thing to the tops as pictured above I coated the part now inside the head before I hung it and also coated the wedge before I put it in. Looks like I should be good to go.

Operator1975 · Jan 21, 2012

Looks like we have some soakers, especially on the eyes.

I put on lighter coats more often. If you overcoat, overexpose, however it is termed, as already mentioned, you get a very undesirable tacky coating and feel which to me is terrible.

The purpose of the linseed is to not make a master untouchable coating on the handle. The purpose is to help maintain the hanlde thru its life and to help sustain it. You do that with more lighter coatings more often. After use, or before long periods of sitting, and then hit every once in a while. Even soaking the eye has its limitation as per the density of the wood and the overall ability of it to soak the linseed up.'

Sometimes less is more.

Each guy will do it his own way. You will find what is best for you as well.

Coal-Cracker · Jan 21, 2012

In addition to an initial heavy coating, I hand rub BLO into the wood grain. Hard enough for the friction to produce considerable heat felt in the hand. I do this over the course of several days, allowing for drying between "coats." Occasionally, I will use some 0000 steel wool if I really want to bring out the grain.

I don't have any available pics of axe/hawk handles, but I do have these to show. Both of these are USGI stocks. Nothing pretty initially, but I'm happy with the way they came out with just hand rubbed BLO and a couple hours spent in front of the TV absentmindedly working. To me, it's therapy.

As far as the actual number of coatings? Depends on how much time I have and how much I want the wood grain to "pop."
These stocks probably had between 10 and 15 coatings a piece.