Lacquer on Buck knife handles?

D

DJones_818

Joined
Sep 16, 2023
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Hi all,

So I have an old 1986 Buck Esquire with the standard wood scales. There was a lot of scratches and marks on the surface of the scales, so I decided to wet and dry sand them smooth down to a 2000 grit paper. Obviously they now have a matte look to them.

I was going to use tung oil on the scales to hopefully darken them down and give them some shine. However, I'm wondering if a light clear lacquer would be a better bet.

What are your thoughts? I would like it to look as original as possible. Do you know if lacquer was used originally on these knives or were they just oiled in some way?

Thanks for you help.

Dan
 
DJones_818 said:
Do you know if lacquer was used originally on these knives or were they just oiled in some way?
Click to expand...

By 1986 handles of the 501 had changed from the original micarta to Dymondwood. Dymondwood is a laminate of very thin layers of birch. These layers were stained to whatever color was wanted and impregnated with resin. No finish was applied to the handles (lacquer, varnish, etc.) since the impregnated wood served as the finish. Whatever finish you try to use will not be absorbed by the handle material. It may work as a surface finish (adsorption), but I don't know how successful it will be.

Bert
 
You should be able to use some polishing compound and buff them to a shine. I believe that how they are finished at the factory.
 
Thanks everyone. Great info. I'm going to give the polishing compound buffing a go. Hopefully that'll bring the shine back. Cheers.
 
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