Linseed Oil or BLO?

C

chad1043

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Sep 30, 2007
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Have a new heft coming on my first ever hang. Just wondering if I should use BLO or just linseed oil? Pros/Cons?
 
Modern BLO usually has some additives that are dangerous. The additives have the effect of making the BLO behave as if it were boiled. So, regular linseed oil is a bit safer, but you should use thin coats to allow it to dry faster.
 
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I've used both and haven't noticed too much of a difference in feel, and not a significant difference in drying time honestly. I get whatever's on the lowest shelf at the hardware store. Bo T is right that BLO contains heavy metal as a drying agent (cobalt I think) so it is somewhat toxic depending on exposure.

Anyone know if there's a difference in the likelihood of spontaneous combustion between raw and BLO?
 
I use BLO Because that's what I have a quart seems to last forever at least for me some advice I got on a different forum is I put my used rags in a bbq grill preferably outside until I can properly dispose of them . They will combust so better safe than sorry .
 
I never use BLO on anything due to the toxicity. Do you really want that on your hands and then go eat a sandwich? For those who don't know Linseed Oil is just another name for Flaxseed Oil. You can use the food grade stuff you get at the health food store on your wood handles too.
 
Tung oil seems to stand up to moisture longer than linseed oil. I've used it on wooden knife and ax/pick/shovel handles for years with good results.
 
+1 Tung Oil
9 bucks at ace hardware and you will do a ton of handles before the bottle runs out
 
I usually start with a few coats of BLO - it seems to penetrate better than tung. Then I finish with 3-4 coats of tung. I prefer the look and feel of tung oil. It feels grippier to me than BLO. I think tung also seals out the moisture better.

BLO to condition the wood. Tung to seal it.
 
For those of you unsure about leaving linseed oil soaked rags around; don't do it. I oiled a western cedar garage door quite a few years ago and left the rag T-shirt on the bare concrete floor at the end of the day. Next morning (this was a new house and not yet occupied) the house was smokey and only the charred remains of the rag were found. The bunch of us working on that house soaked another rag as an experiment and observed it over the course of the day. It progressively got warmer and ultimately started to smolder.
I've never used any kind of linseed oil since. I'm a MinWax teak & tung oil user for wood handles and gun stocks but that doesn't mean that the used rags get left lying about.
 
I use raw linseed oil (AKA flax oil) from the grocery store. I use it in food and keep it in the fridge. If a bottle goes past the expiration date, it comes out of the fridge and gets used as a wood finish.

I don't want those chemical additives on my tool handles, which is why I avoid using BLO. With raw linseed oil, there are no nasty chemicals to get onto your skin, so I skip the rag and apply it directly to the handle with my hands. A square or two of toilet paper wipes the excess oil from my hands (and get flushed), before washing hands in the sink. No rags, no diposal problems, no fires.

For bigger jobs, I keep the raw linseed oil in a large jar (from applesauce), big enough to hold a dedicated paintbrush (1.5") that's also stored in the jar with the oil. The paintbrush handle was shortened to make it just fit in the jar, so the lid will still screw on. The brush applies the oil, and it's rubbed in by hand.
 
There is an old sailors doggerel that goes:-

"Raw linseed oil soaks right in....Boiled oil forms a skin"

So either will be quite OK to use.

If you want the oil to soak into the wood use raw linseed oil.

Boiled L/oil seems to dry quicker however.

I have been using linseed oil for a long time and I think that the toxicity question is overplayed.
 
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