looking for advice on finishing wood handle

S

stax

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Jan 6, 2009
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Can anyone tell me what is the best way to finish a wooden handle? I have tried oiling it but after some use it gets pretty nasty looking and needs to be sanded more to clean it up. I have sprayed a clear sheen on some and that seems to look good. But, doing that I also get the spray on the metal between the two handle halves and that will probably chip off with use and look like trash again. I am looking for a way to preserve the nice look of the burl. Thanks
 
You could put masking tape over the exposed metal and then brush on some poly or you can try tru-tung oil or maybe boiled linseed oil rubbed in. Not sure what the best way is... kind of been wondering myself. Let's wait for some more answers.
 
Get it sanded down and dip the handle in polyurethane. Then wipe it off. Scuff, repeat. The more wiping off you do, the more matt the finish. Just wipe it off the blade very well before it dries.
 
Tung oil. 3 coats with a 24 hour dry time between. If you want a high shine don't wipe off the last coat.The last thing I do for a really high shine is to rub out the last (dried)
coat with a well crumpled pc of brown craft paper or brown paper bag.
 
I like danish oil, it dries hard and protects the wood but isn't easily drawn out with handling like just oiling the wood. Danish oil is a mix of tung oil and boiled linseed oil, as far as I know.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll pick up some tung oil. It doesn't all sinl in? It actually dries hard on the surface?
 
Danish oil will leave a surface finish, but the mix is tung for penetration and linseed is more for surface treatment I believe. If it works the same, you can just keep drying and coating until you get the desired surface treatment.
 
Never heard of danish oil. Thanks for the tip, Acrid. A quick google search states that it's polymerized linseed oil and will get harder and more durable with age. Cool.
 
I used Danish Oil for a long time, then realized that when I wet the knife the water still raised the grain. Plus I found that on Osage and Purpleheart, it allowed the wood to brown out quicker than polyurethane. (It will still oxidize toward brown, but slower with poly.) And no grain raising once polyurethane sealed up the wood.
 
I'm not a wood expert, but I think some woods (such as Cocobolo, Ironwood, etc.) don't take well to oil finishes as they are somewhat naturally oily. Depending on what kind of wood you are finishing, that could be a factor.
 
I've used oil finishes on both Cocobolo, and Ironwood, and even on Teak with no troubles.
 
Fiddleback said:
I used Danish Oil for a long time, then realized that when I wet the knife the water still raised the grain.
Click to expand...

True. I haven't done it, but the directions on my can of Watco Danish oil say you can dip it in polyurethane after the regular application is finished.

Danish oil is also available with various stains already in it. It makes a beautiful finish in my opinion, but like the others said, it's not the best choice for a hard-use knife. I'm slowly getting away from oiled wood and starting to buy stabilized wood instead... seems to be pretty low-maintenance and doesn't require further finishing.
 
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