Let's talk wax.

I've been hesitant to say this here since I feel like inevitably someone is going to pipe up and say I'm going to give all my steel and leather some kind of hyper corrosion herpes and give myself bleeding eyeball brain butt cancer.

For probably thirty years now I've wiped just about anything down with SC Johnson paste wax. Boots, belts, jackets, holsters, anything leather. Use a hair dryer to really work it into the leather. If I'm putting blued steel in the safe I wipe it down and I've never had rust. So of coarse it's yet another good thing that's been discontinued. I figure once this can runs out I'll have to try another brand like Minwax or similar. No way am I paying the money Ren wax wants for a small jar.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
I've been hesitant to say this here since I feel like inevitably someone is going to pipe up and say I'm going to give all my steel and leather some kind of hyper corrosion herpes and give myself bleeding eyeball brain butt cancer.

For probably thirty years now I've wiped just about anything down with SC Johnson paste wax. Boots, belts, jackets, holsters, anything leather. Use a hair dryer to really work it into the leather. If I'm putting blued steel in the safe I wipe it down and I've never had rust. So of coarse it's yet another good thing that's been discontinued. I figure once this can runs out I'll have to try another brand like Minwax or similar. No way am I paying the money Ren wax wants for a small jar.
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I still use Johnson paste wax a LOT! It's my go-to when I wipe down the cast iron tables on my machines and whatnot. I used to use it a lot on handles too, until I decided I wanted something a little more food safe. Johnson's paste wax (not the floor paste wax) is some great stuff!

I hear you on the Ren Wax. It's really meant for specific situations like what Dave was talking about. When you have a 300+ knife collection some of the knives tend to sit on a shelf for a LONG time before they're carried. Ren Wax is great for that.
 
Horsewright said:
Walnut, oak and similar woods will receive multiple coats of wet sanding Danish Oil.
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Thanks for the info! Do these woods also get the wax?

Maximumbob54 said:
For probably thirty years now I've wiped just about anything down with SC Johnson paste wax.
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I recently used some of Johnson's paste wax on some picture frames. I can't recall if it was the floor wax variety or not, but it brought a nice luster to some black walnut and oak!
 
jnaught said:
Thanks for the info! Do these woods also get the wax?


I recently used some of Johnson's paste wax on some picture frames. I can't recall if it was the floor wax variety or not, but it brought a nice luster to some black walnut and oak!
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Yep every knife. Some lighter woods like olive I will hand buff the wax off and not use a buffer.
 
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I prefer paste wax over Renaissance Wax for the same reasons.
Neutral paste shoe polish is very good, too. Johnson's Paste Wax has been discontinued, but there are similar waxes still available.
 
jnaught said:
Thanks for the info! Do these woods also get the wax?


I recently used some of Johnson's paste wax on some picture frames. I can't recall if it was the floor wax variety or not, but it brought a nice luster to some black walnut and oak!
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If I recall, the only real difference between the standard Johnson paste wax, and the floor wax is that there is some really fine grit in the floor version for floor traction. I could be misremembering though.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I prefer paste wax over Renaissance Wax for the same reasons.
Neutral paste shoe polish is very good, too. Johnson's Paste Wax has been discontinued, but there are similar waxes still available.
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Can't believe I never thought to try Kiwi neutral.
 
Horsewright said:
An ingredient in many leather waxes, conditioners etc is carnauba wax and dang if we ain't back to my Mothers Carnauba wax again.
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I actually tried out my wax mix on my leather apron the other day and was pretty stoked with the results! One thing to keep in mind about carnauba is that it likes to leave kind of milky spots (as does shellac wax) when exposed to water or alcohol. It’s just aesthetic, but something I noticed in testing.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
Interesting write up.

I use a beeswax/coconut oil/paraffin mix on my non stabilized knife handles. I much prefer it to BLO.
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For the non-stabilized case, wouldn't BLO help seal better, since it is a "drying" oil? (i.e., it polymerizes)
I use a lot of BLO (mostly on furniture, but occasionally on my learning process knives)

But for food safe waxes, I hadn't found one I liked. The simple ingredient list of the original poster's wax, as well as the homework that went into the product is great though - thanks for the education!
 
daily_grind said:
For the non-stabilized case, wouldn't BLO help seal better, since it is a "drying" oil? (i.e., it polymerizes)
I use a lot of BLO (mostly on furniture, but occasionally on my learning process knives)

But for food safe waxes, I hadn't found one I liked. The simple ingredient list of the original poster's wax, as well as the homework that went into the product is great though - thanks for the education!
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In my experience, unless your baking the coating of blo in the sun... it doesn't polymerize all that great. I've finely sanded knife handles before, put on 5-6 very thin coats of BLO that properly cured, only to have the finish crap out at the first droplet of water.

Ever since this happened to me on multiple occasions, I started using a wax for my natural wood handled knives and they have held up nicely to water exposure.
 
A buddy sent me some polymerized linseed oil mixed with beeswax for wood handles. It works great. Rub on a light coat, let it dry a few days, buff it to a hard shine.
 
If you guys are wanting a food safe hardening wax, just you wait.

I’ve been working with polymerized linseed oil (not boiled), pure tung oil, and polymerized/fractionated walnut oil with my formulas (among other things).

It’ll be months before it’s ready because I need to see how shelf stable it is (most hardening oils have issues in their tin/jar in about a year), but the results have been very, very promising. :)

The one downside to the hardening formulas I’m working on is that they will REQUIRE the handle material to be slightly heated up before wax application for full hardening and a true bond to form.
 
AntDog said:
A buddy sent me some polymerized linseed oil mixed with beeswax for wood handles. It works great. Rub on a light coat, let it dry a few days, buff it to a hard shine.
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There is the "tried and true" product that I have used ... which is beeswax and BLO (IIRC, the polymerization happens with exposure to air). I have used it on a few walking sticks, but I haven't ever got them wet other than on the tip ... which gets worn away by rocks, etc., now I am going to go and see how well water beads up on it. They are a few years old ...
 
Part two of the wax testing!

I’ve been working with food-safe, hardening wax formulas for as long as I’ve been playing with non-hardening formulas. And I’m almost there. The final test is really shelf-stability, which will be ongoing for a few more months. Hardening waxes/oils have a habit of getting plasticky/gunky within six months to a year of opening.

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I previously tested the penetration of the wax and oils on a finish of 1,000 grit, 5,000 grit, and 10,000 grit.

This particular test is more of a water resistance and overall conditioning/aesthetic test. Because of that, the Holly and Cocobolo have been finished at 400 grit since that’s similar to what a production knife would have. Heat was used to apply the finishes for best penetration/results.

So far I have been very pleased with the formula I’m leaning towards.

The polymerized linseed (not boiled) and pure tung oil have so far underwhelmed me. We’ll check back in a month to see how it does when it’s closer to being fully hardened.
 
Tried and True Original Wood Finish holds up well on wood turnings and cutting boards. If I want the knife handle sheen to match a cutting board I have used it on the handle, although not what I’d call a glossy finish.
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Added a pic of the Tried and True Original. A little goes a long way.
 
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DanF said:
Tried and True Original Wood Finish holds up well on wood turnings and cutting boards. If I want the knife handle sheen to match a cutting board I have used it on the handle, although not what I’d call a glossy finish.
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Added a pic of the Tried and True Original. A little goes a long way.
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Beautiful work!
 
guys try Bowling alley wax
i got some many years ago after seeing several threads like this... the Johnsons wax was still bragged about back then...
it is good as a wipe on wait wipe off... but is great if you build it up in layers.... not sure about the food safe part (probably not)
i use it on my bandsaw table just like i was taught so many years ago
 
I have used Ren wax for about 12 years on my knife handles and Damascus blades. For non-Damascus blades, I use a light oil cloth.
 
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