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- Mar 26, 2018
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First I want to preface this by stating a few things.
I am not an expert on this topic. I have done quite a bit of research over the past year, and have had several long conversations with one of the Smithsonian Institute's head conservators and I've barely scratched the surface. If anything I say is incorrect, or if you would like to add something, please do!
Second, this is specifically about food safe, non-hardening waxes/oils. If you are not concerned with food safe wax finishes, I highly recommend you stick with Renaissance Wax, or a similar protectant. I've tested a ton of waxes and without fail, the more reputable, non-food safe finishes have performed better than every food safe wax I've purchased/made. If food safe, hardening waxes/oils are more your jam... I'll have something later down the road, but still have months of testing to do.
Alright, here we go.
Being an avid collector of knives, a hobbyist knife maker, and a supplier of handle material, I use a LOT of wax... And to be frank, I've long considered most non-hardening waxes on the market to have rather inflated prices, and occasionally questionable claims. In attempt to keep costs down, and ensure I am using a wax with high quality, known ingredients I have spent the past several months tinkering with wax recipes and have come to a point where I'm ready to share a few things.
Cost breakdown:
The main ingredients of most non-hardening waxes are beeswax and a carrier oil. Soy wax is often mixed with the beeswax as a cheap filler. Some claim it is to reduce stickiness but there are other, better ways of doing so. There are typically a few other additives in the wax mixtures like; carnauba flakes, essentials oils, fragrances, etc but they make up such a small percentage of the formulas that the cost is fairly negligible.
A gallon (128oz) of high quality tsubaki/camellia seed oil costs around $150, and is one of the most expensive carrier oil options. A gallon of food grade mineral oil is around $30, while a gallon of high quality, fractionated coconut MCT oil is around $100. 3lbs (48oz) of beeswax cap, which is the highest grade of beeswax, costs around $45 on the high end.
Lets assume XYZ Wax Company is using the highest grade, most expensive beeswax they can find, and one of the highest grade, most expensive carrier oils on the market. $150 for one gallon of oil + $45 for 3lbs of beeswax.
That comes out to $195 for 176 ounces of wax, or $1.11 per ounce of wax. A two ounce aluminum tin runs around 50 cents. A label is around 20 cents... Bringing the total for a 2oz tin of high quality wax to around $3 to produce (not accounting for time, electricity, IP, etc of course). I've often paid over $20 for a tin of wax that size. That's just crazy to me.
Beeswax
There is basically no such thing as organic beeswax. Honeybees forage up to a few miles away from their hive so their isn't really a way to control what they are making their wax out of. Because of this, the USDA does not allow beeswax or honey to be labeled as organic. If a company is claiming that their beeswax based product is organic, they're either confused, lying, or using overseas produced beeswax. Different countries have different rules about what is allowed to be labeled as organic, so you will often see wax coming from China, and other countries labeled as organic. Testing has also shown many of the "organic" beeswax sold online to be mixed with more cost effective waxes.
Carrier oils
There is nothing wrong with mineral oil. It's cheap, food safe, and neutral colored. It is an inert substance which means it passes through your body without being digested... Similar to the outer shell of a corn kernel. You may see some fear mongering about mineral oil because it is a petroleum based product, but you literally consume stuff derived from petroleum on a daily basis. That being said, I do prefer a more natural carrier oil, because why not? And more importantly, mineral oil tested the worst in my water resistance tests.
I have had a lot of luck with both tsubaki/camellia seed oil, as well as fractionated coconut MCT oil. Tsubaki oil is naturally shelf stable, while fractionated coconut MCT oil as has had its long-chain fatty acids removed to make it shelf stable. Neither will go rancid. Tsubaki oil has been used for centuries in Japan as a blade protectant. Coming from a kitchen background I had been using and loving tsubaki oil for almost two decades and am not at all surprised to see it perform well. In my testing tsubaki oil tends to produce a bit more shine, while fractionated coconut MCT oil provides a little more water resistance... I like to use a blend of the two.
Additives
Every company has their secret blend of herbs and spices, so I'll just go over some general additives. Most companies tend to use a stabilizer and/or antioxidants both to prolong the shelf life, and prevent separation. Vitamin E, lecithin, or any number of other additives can be used for this. Testing has also shown that antioxidants decrease weathering to wood caused by U.V. and air exposure. Waxes like carnauba and candelilla are often added to increase shine and hardness. Aside from that colorants and fragrance tend to be the most commonly found additives.
Alright, I'll step off of my soapbox now.
As I was saying... I have been making my own wax for a while and finally have a recipe I am satisfied with. I do not currently have any plans on selling the wax I make, but I figured since I was making large batches for myself, I may as well offer free samples to my customers. I currently have around two hundred 0.5oz sample tins on hand. As of this last Monday EVERY SINGLE website order is shipping with one of the samples until I run out. Works well on both wood and composites.
My recipe is 100% food safe and consists of:
Beeswax cap (U.S. sourced, unbleached)
Carnauba wax
Shellac wax (heat separated, no chemicals) - Note, this is different than regular shellac.
Tsubaki/Camellia seed oil (cold pressed)
Fractionated coconut MCT oil (organic)
Lemon peel oil (organic)
Vitamin E (soybean oil carrier)
Directions for use:
Apply a very small amount of wax to the material with a soft cloth or your finger (food safe!). A little goes a very long ways, and using an excessive amount will not increase the protection it provides. Remove excess wax with a soft cloth and polish until satisfied.
For best results I recommend slightly warming the material you will be applying the wax to with a blow dryer or heat gun (careful! Not too hot!) and letting the wax sit for 3 - 15 minutes before you remove it. This is not required but WILL increase penetration and water resistance.
Because such a little goes such a long ways, I kept the formula on the harder side to make applying a small amount easier. I can easily soften the mixture if feedback takes me that way though.
TL;DR
Here's a video I made for Instagram a while back covering the topic.
I am not an expert on this topic. I have done quite a bit of research over the past year, and have had several long conversations with one of the Smithsonian Institute's head conservators and I've barely scratched the surface. If anything I say is incorrect, or if you would like to add something, please do!
Second, this is specifically about food safe, non-hardening waxes/oils. If you are not concerned with food safe wax finishes, I highly recommend you stick with Renaissance Wax, or a similar protectant. I've tested a ton of waxes and without fail, the more reputable, non-food safe finishes have performed better than every food safe wax I've purchased/made. If food safe, hardening waxes/oils are more your jam... I'll have something later down the road, but still have months of testing to do.
Alright, here we go.
Being an avid collector of knives, a hobbyist knife maker, and a supplier of handle material, I use a LOT of wax... And to be frank, I've long considered most non-hardening waxes on the market to have rather inflated prices, and occasionally questionable claims. In attempt to keep costs down, and ensure I am using a wax with high quality, known ingredients I have spent the past several months tinkering with wax recipes and have come to a point where I'm ready to share a few things.
Cost breakdown:
The main ingredients of most non-hardening waxes are beeswax and a carrier oil. Soy wax is often mixed with the beeswax as a cheap filler. Some claim it is to reduce stickiness but there are other, better ways of doing so. There are typically a few other additives in the wax mixtures like; carnauba flakes, essentials oils, fragrances, etc but they make up such a small percentage of the formulas that the cost is fairly negligible.
A gallon (128oz) of high quality tsubaki/camellia seed oil costs around $150, and is one of the most expensive carrier oil options. A gallon of food grade mineral oil is around $30, while a gallon of high quality, fractionated coconut MCT oil is around $100. 3lbs (48oz) of beeswax cap, which is the highest grade of beeswax, costs around $45 on the high end.
Lets assume XYZ Wax Company is using the highest grade, most expensive beeswax they can find, and one of the highest grade, most expensive carrier oils on the market. $150 for one gallon of oil + $45 for 3lbs of beeswax.
That comes out to $195 for 176 ounces of wax, or $1.11 per ounce of wax. A two ounce aluminum tin runs around 50 cents. A label is around 20 cents... Bringing the total for a 2oz tin of high quality wax to around $3 to produce (not accounting for time, electricity, IP, etc of course). I've often paid over $20 for a tin of wax that size. That's just crazy to me.
Beeswax
There is basically no such thing as organic beeswax. Honeybees forage up to a few miles away from their hive so their isn't really a way to control what they are making their wax out of. Because of this, the USDA does not allow beeswax or honey to be labeled as organic. If a company is claiming that their beeswax based product is organic, they're either confused, lying, or using overseas produced beeswax. Different countries have different rules about what is allowed to be labeled as organic, so you will often see wax coming from China, and other countries labeled as organic. Testing has also shown many of the "organic" beeswax sold online to be mixed with more cost effective waxes.
Carrier oils
There is nothing wrong with mineral oil. It's cheap, food safe, and neutral colored. It is an inert substance which means it passes through your body without being digested... Similar to the outer shell of a corn kernel. You may see some fear mongering about mineral oil because it is a petroleum based product, but you literally consume stuff derived from petroleum on a daily basis. That being said, I do prefer a more natural carrier oil, because why not? And more importantly, mineral oil tested the worst in my water resistance tests.
I have had a lot of luck with both tsubaki/camellia seed oil, as well as fractionated coconut MCT oil. Tsubaki oil is naturally shelf stable, while fractionated coconut MCT oil as has had its long-chain fatty acids removed to make it shelf stable. Neither will go rancid. Tsubaki oil has been used for centuries in Japan as a blade protectant. Coming from a kitchen background I had been using and loving tsubaki oil for almost two decades and am not at all surprised to see it perform well. In my testing tsubaki oil tends to produce a bit more shine, while fractionated coconut MCT oil provides a little more water resistance... I like to use a blend of the two.
Additives
Every company has their secret blend of herbs and spices, so I'll just go over some general additives. Most companies tend to use a stabilizer and/or antioxidants both to prolong the shelf life, and prevent separation. Vitamin E, lecithin, or any number of other additives can be used for this. Testing has also shown that antioxidants decrease weathering to wood caused by U.V. and air exposure. Waxes like carnauba and candelilla are often added to increase shine and hardness. Aside from that colorants and fragrance tend to be the most commonly found additives.
Alright, I'll step off of my soapbox now.
As I was saying... I have been making my own wax for a while and finally have a recipe I am satisfied with. I do not currently have any plans on selling the wax I make, but I figured since I was making large batches for myself, I may as well offer free samples to my customers. I currently have around two hundred 0.5oz sample tins on hand. As of this last Monday EVERY SINGLE website order is shipping with one of the samples until I run out. Works well on both wood and composites.
My recipe is 100% food safe and consists of:
Beeswax cap (U.S. sourced, unbleached)
Carnauba wax
Shellac wax (heat separated, no chemicals) - Note, this is different than regular shellac.
Tsubaki/Camellia seed oil (cold pressed)
Fractionated coconut MCT oil (organic)
Lemon peel oil (organic)
Vitamin E (soybean oil carrier)
Directions for use:
Apply a very small amount of wax to the material with a soft cloth or your finger (food safe!). A little goes a very long ways, and using an excessive amount will not increase the protection it provides. Remove excess wax with a soft cloth and polish until satisfied.
For best results I recommend slightly warming the material you will be applying the wax to with a blow dryer or heat gun (careful! Not too hot!) and letting the wax sit for 3 - 15 minutes before you remove it. This is not required but WILL increase penetration and water resistance.
Because such a little goes such a long ways, I kept the formula on the harder side to make applying a small amount easier. I can easily soften the mixture if feedback takes me that way though.
TL;DR
Here's a video I made for Instagram a while back covering the topic.
........Nice job above and with your product!!! 
