Kitchen knife wood handle finish?

[bigdoggz]

Hey, I'm new here and I just put a new handle on my father in law's favorite chef knife using a very dense African blackwood of some kind (can't remember the variety). I'm looking for advice on what to use for finish. Thought about boiled linseed but I want better waterproofing since it's a kitchen knife. Wipe on poly? Something else? Any advice would help. Cheers!

 

[Barbababa]

Danish Oil or a good Hard Wax Oil. Use a cotton rag to wipe the oil on in a thin layer. As soon as you see the oil penetrate and the surface looks dry, wipe again. Repeat this 4-5 times until the oil does not penetrates any more. Leave it to dry and harden for a day, and then you can polish it. The oil will harden inside the wood and make it waterproof. Don’t give such a nice wood any surface treatment like varnish or what “poly” you spoke about.

 

[Ken H>]

For a kitchen knife I normally sand to 1200 grit or so, then a light buffing. Perhaps a coat of decent wax. African Blackwood is so dense it really won't absorb much of any thing.

 

[Michael Black]

For a kitchen knife I normally sand to 1200 grit or so, then a light buffing. Perhaps a coat of decent wax. African Blackwood is so dense it really won't absorb much of any thing.

Yup exactly the same here. I'll use several thin coats of True Oil on African Blackwood though, when the handle also has other wood on it and that works really well.

 

[Cushing H.]

I second (third?) the 1200 grit followed by a carnuba wax.

 

[ea42]

I'll fourth, blackwood's incredibly dense. Never use poly. Or a dishwasher.

Eric

 

[Hengelo_77]

no oil, no wax just hand sand and micro mesh after that if you want it real smooth/shiny

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Hand sand to 1000+ and buff lightly.,
I use mostly Micarta or stabilized dense woods for kitchen knives.