how to make stabilized wood "pop"

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reiko1078

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Sep 1, 2011
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im in the end stages of my first hidden tang bowie. the handle is made from a piece of stabilized koa. i sanded it to 1500 grit and although it looks nice, it doesnt have that "wet" look like the many beautiful examples ive seen. of course the knives im talking about are photographed professionaly. is the sheen im seeing a trick of the camera? do i need to go higher in grit? or do they have a coating such as CyanoAcrylate?

i plan on using this knife and it honestly is smoother then i wold like as far as grip goes plus i know with use it will get scratched and scuffed, but i would like to be able to take it to that level of shiny-ness in the beginning just so i know how to do it.

can anyone give me some advice?
thanks
 
Buff it with a soft muslin wheel and green compound. Then wax the handle.
 
I use matchless white compound, but the procedure is the same.

If the koa is porous, use tung oil and wet sand it repeatedly to fill the pores. I don't let it make a built up finish like some do, but sand and wipe until the pores are completely filled. It won't look like Angelina Jolie in a wet tee shirt, but it will greatly improve the "wet look" of the handle.
 
I have a difficult time getting my Koa handles to "pop" as well. Giving them a lacquer finish makes it look too much like a piece of furniture and also makes the handle really slick. I most of my handles with use in mind so I've kind of come to realization that the wood is never going to maintain that picture perfect wet look. Right now I just sand to 1500 and use linseed oil and I think it still looks decent but not as good as I would like. I might try some compound like Stacy mentioned and see how that goes.
 
awesome thanks guys. im pretty much operating on a shoe string budget. i do have some green compound but i dont have a wheel buffer. if i put the compound on a microfiber clother and rub it to death will that work? i also already have a bottle of tru-oil from a different project will that work in place of tung or linseed oil?
 
I just finished a stabilized Koa handle. I think to get that real "pop" out of it you need to take it to a higher grit. I took this last one up to 2500 and it seemed to make a huge difference. I also used tung oil to wet sand it from 1000 grit up. I did not build it up at all, just used it to fill the pores that were there.
I don't have a buffer either, so I just used the shoe shine method with a terry cloth rag.
I think it came out nice.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/987974-APB-Prototype-KOA-content!
 
If you are willing to put in the extra effort, Nick Wheeler's method is one of the best finishes for stabilized Koa I have seen.
[video=youtube_share;Nc4y1bFj3co]http://youtu.be/Nc4y1bFj3co[/video]
 
perfect video! just waiting on glue to cure. looking forward to getting this finished. its been sitting on my desk for about 6 months
 
Hopefully you will post photos and tell us how things work out for you.

It is a light touch and developed skill with power buffing to get it right. Especially with open pore woods like koa and walnut.
Stacy's method works really good finishing stabilized Koa.
This is the handle on a kitchen knife that Stacy made for me.
I would say that he exposed the piece of wood's full potential.

006-9.jpg
 
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i will for sure attempt to get some good pictures of it once its done. i actually bought the block from you maybe 4 or 5 months ago.
right now the stripes only show in the sun id like them to show all the time like your kitchen knife
 
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