Is this the Highest Level of Polish You Can Get on Stabilized Wood Scales?

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I used tru oil a lot on my split cane bamboo fly rods. I would hang them in a lighted heat cabinet to cure it for days.

Tru Oil seems to dry at different rates depending on weather. So keep it warm and let it cure...even a couple of days. When it is cured it will be tough and not gummy at all.
 
AVigil said:
I used tru oil a lot on my split cane bamboo fly rods. I would hang them in a lighted heat cabinet to cure it for days.

Tru Oil seems to dry at different rates depending on weather. So keep it warm and let it cure...even a couple of days. When it is cured it will be tough and not gummy at all.
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Ok. It feels tough. I assume it will get gummy really quick right now though if I polished it too much. Today at work I dropped the knife on the pavement indoors and it didn't mark the wood and THANKFULLY didn't hit the tang! I haven't ran my humidifier in days in order to facilitate quicker drying. I also dry it on top of my gas stove or right next to the tv screen where it is most dry in the house.

If anyone has any info on that rouge staining the wood that would be very helpful. Tomorrow will be my last day of tru oiling the knife. At that point I will be at 15 coats and I will FINALLY take the tape back off the handle for a few days and admire the knife while it cures.
 
Don't use a dremel. It is probably heating up the finish and driving the compound into it. Rub it in with a cloth. Then take a clean cloth and rub it off and hand buff with a terry cloth
 
If you are using a buffer use a new clean wheel with a light colored handle. That will help with the gunk.
 
Yeah it was a clean wheel and like I said, it didn't even change the look of the pins because I was sanding so lightly. Also I thought jewelers rouge was light pink. This stuff is like maroon red. I probably just needed to let it dry longer. Mid day through tru oiling today (on coat 13 its starting starting to get a higher level of sheen but its getting to the crappy stage where it just looks waxy. Somewhere in between satin and wet looking. At least the look is slowly changing some more. I'm just not sure how much farther I have to go.

14 Coats. I plan on stopping at 15. Good idea? ...or do I need just a little bit more. ...or a lot more?

[video=youtube_share;qaJsdDiykRY]http://youtu.be/qaJsdDiykRY[/video]
 
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The light pink stuff is what I use, pink scratchless is what it is called.
 
So I had a scrap piece of wood that I just globbed on a bunch of true oil on, on Sunday and today I tried buffing it with jewelers rouge with a dremel. It did not initially stain the wood. However it did mar the surface up really bad and that was with very very minimal polishing. I could see my orbital buffer or a big buffer wheel doing the same thing. So basically I don't think the oil was dry enough after three days. ??? Or a dremel is way too fast and the cotton wheels are way too rough .

My handle is now at 17 coats and it looks exactly as it did at 13 coats. As I said before, its shiny, but waxy looking or something(not faded or satin, just weird). Probably has to do with applying the tru oil with paper towel and it not being a fine spray. I will wait as long as I can (probably three days) and then hand buff with the rouge. The handle is definitely glossy but weird looking. If the rouge doesn't make it pop a ton I probably won't like it. Right now it is very glossy but doesn't have the gloss of a high gloss polyurethane. Thanks for the help. Any more suggestions would help. But I will of course report back once its polished so i can show off the knife.
 
Let it dry. It can take a lot longer then you expect. Put it under a desk lamp for a few days to keep it warm and let cure.

You might find this informative:

This is from the Birchwood Casey website:
Quote:
Q: How can I increase the shelf life of Tru-Oil?
A: To increase the shelf life of Tru-Oil poke a small hole in the foil instead of pulling it all the way off and store the bottle upside down after opening.
Q: Can Tru-Oil be thinned out?
A: Tru-Oil can be thinned out using mineral spirits. NOTE: Adding mineral spirits will increase drying time.
Q: Will Tru-Oil change the color of the wood?
A: NO. Tru-Oil will not change the color, however it does have a golden hue amber tint.
Q: Are Tru-Oil and lacquer compatible?
A: NO.
Q: Will Tru-Oil work on laminate?
A: YES.
Q: Before using Tru-Oil should I use a water based stain or an oil based stain?
A: Use a water based stain.
Q: How do I apply Tru-Oil?
A: Apply Tru-Oil using your finger or a lint free cloth.
Q: How long until Tru-Oil is dry to the touch?
A: Tru-Oil dry time is approximately 1-3 hours.
Q: How long is recommended between coats of Tru-Oil?
A: 12 hours.
Q: What temperature works best for applying Tru-Oil?
A: Room temperature is ideal for applying Tru-Oil. Tru-Oil will dry faster in low humidity as well.
Q: Can I add linseed to increase dry time?
A: Not recommended.
Q: Will Tru-Oil penetrate oily wood?
A: Some oily woods (i.e. ebony rosewood and cocobolo) can be tough to penetrate. When apply to these types of woods try using mineral spirits.
Q: How long do I need to wait until rubbing out with abrasive agent?
A: Rub out Tru-Oil with abrasive agent (Rotten stone) ONE MONTH after Tru-Oil application.
 
I see how tru-oil can be worthwhile for presenting a shine and for sealing small pores in wood handles, but I prefer not to use it. A properly stabilized piece of wood or a dense and oily wood should not need tru-oil. Permeable woods shouldn't be used as knife handles, in my opinion.

Tru-oil builds a layer on the wood surface, which when sanded with even very fine grits, tends to dull immediately. This poses issues for me when trying to seal a handle or scale which is directly adjacent to a previously installed metal guard or bolster. After multiple applications of tru-oil, the tru-oil finish bleeds onto the metal guard/bolster surface and must be removed. The result is that the handle scale surface ultimately will be a higher profile than the guard or bolster, and that the sanding can never be kept perfectly accurate to assure that the finish on the wood is not scuffed.

A properly stabilized / ground/ shaped / 800 grit hand sanded wood handle should easily present a brilliant shine after being touched on a 6-inch 1850 rpm cotton buffing wheel with 600-100 grit rouge for no more than a minute or so. This will not result in raised fasteners or pins.

An industrial (6" plus wheel) buffer is highly worthwhile for me. A dremel type buffer is too small for knife handles and will produce divots.
 
I haven't read every post in this long thread, but from what I saw, I don't understand why you are trying to power polish an oil/varnish finish. Mixing rouge with a varnish plus a buffing wheel won't end up pretty.

The answer is simple for almost any wood or finish.

If you want it to shine, you have to start with a completely smooth surface. There are no short cuts for getting it smooth. You have to sand your way up the grits. Sand the wood to its final surface ( 1000+ grit with all lower grit scratches gone) and then apply a thin coat of your finish. Rub it in and let it sit for a short while to soak in a bit....and then rub off the excess with firm rubbing. Let it dry completely (days or more) and then sand to the same finish you did the handle to. Repeat as needed to build up the shine desired, and when done BUFF BY HAND with a soft cotton cloth. Power buffing an applied varnish finish won't help it shine more, but it might ruin it completely. Applying rouge will likely ruin it.
 
NickWheeler said:
You need to sand the wood with the Tru Oil wet at a lower grit (around 320X) to get the open grain to seal up. Then let it cure for a few, and then move on up through the grits.

600X is pretty coarse when talking about finishing a knife handle. I typically take mine to at least 1200X.
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Are you re applying the Tru Oil at each successive grit as well? Thanks! Just got done watching your 2 hand sanding videos on youtube and I want to thank you for those as well.
 
"You need to sand the wood with the Tru Oil wet at a lower grit (around 320X) to get the open grain to seal up."

First off, this is garbage. My handle still hasn't recovered from this recommendation. It turned my handle grayish black. This method severely colors the wood. I will never do this again. I know I have heard that people do this but it's a BS method. Super glue is a way better method.

Second, Stacy, it's obvious that you haven't read this entire thread. This knife was sanded to 2000 grit and has had 18 coats of tru oil. The finish improved in shine up until about coat 13 or 14. It is shiny but still doesn't have a wet look. Maybe it will after buffing though, IDK. I was told by burl source that this type of wood is hard to get to a wet look. I am trying to get it there just as a learning experience. However, I am with you in regards to power buffing. It's way too high risk, especially after spending so much time working on all the coats of tru oil. I play on hand rubbing the finish with red rouge in a few weeks.
 
Maelstrom- It depends on the wood and how well it seals up, and if it's stabilized or not.



To the OP... I've been doing that successfully for at least 10 years. Why did you try it once, fail, and then decide to declare that my advice was garbage????? If it ruined your handle, you did it wrong.
 
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dzlvs8 said:
First off, this is garbage...
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Yeah, telling one of the best makers out there, who is taking some of his valuable time to try and help you, that his technique is garbage. :rolleyes: You are gonna go far. :rolleyes:

All is not lost as you say Nick, this is a perfect example to newcomers of what NOT to do.
 
I can only imagine how exciting life must be if you instantly decide the first time you try something and fail, that it's wrong or not possible. You'd sure get to try a lot of new stuff every day!!! ;) :)
 
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Nick, I agree that this guy doesn't seem to have the best attitude. But statements like these don't elevate you at all. Why not just ignore it, instead of going for a needless roll in the mud? Acting with class elevates you and those around you. Acting with immaturity and profanity just gives others a chance to watch you on the way down. Just my opinion.
 
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Just to throw in my 2 cents.
Nick W's method is one of the best ways to finish most woods.
Out of everything I have read, including my advice, Nick's method would most likely be the best.
 
There are a few people on the forums that when they talk I listen. Nick and Stacey are not people I would talk back to or say their advice is garbage. If I did something they said and it screwed up on me I would post a picture and say "what happened here?" We are all here to learn from each other, not belittle each others experience and knowledge.
 
Sam Wilson said:
Nick, I agree that this guy doesn't seem to have the best attitude. But statements like these don't elevate you at all. Why not just ignore it, instead of going for a needless roll in the mud? Acting with class elevates you and those around you. Acting with immaturity and profanity just gives others a chance to watch you on the way down. Just my opinion.
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Sam, while I agree with your idealistic viewpoint here, I'd say the evidence that the polite approach isn't working in this forum, is pretty apparent.

Almost all the people with the experience to give good advice, have "just ignored it" to the point of avoiding Shop Talk like the plague. It's become a noob free for all, with more misinformation than anybody can shake a stick at. Someone has to call BS. Nick is one of the last hold-outs, and he apparently took your advice to heart and edited his posts to be much more diplomatic. Probably the correct course, but I for one don't blame him for getting a little pissed.

Our "don't say anything if you don't have something nice to say" policy around here isn't working anymore, not sure if it ever did. Just sayin.
 
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