- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,416
Well folks, I finally finished finishing my Neem Handled Giant Seax. Purchased on this DOTD, you can get all the specs there if you want them. When this one came in I was pretty stoked because the piece of wood on it was really nice. So I went right to work on it. Sorry I didn't take any WIP pix, I tend to sleep erratically due to my health issues (try looking at all the different times I post sometime) so 99A% of the time I am either wishing I could sleep while I am working or it is too dark for the pix to come out well or both. So I will just tell you the "How To" in words and hope it helps.
First, I carefully taped off all of the metal parts, both to protect the from the sanding and finishing materials and to protect me from cutting myself. I always use the blue masking tape because it comes off easily and leaves no residue behind that I then need to work at removing. This handle came finished and smooth but Santosh had also polished all of the wood pores shut on the felt wheel. So in order for any of what I wanted to work, I had to do a but of sanding to open them back up. Otherwise the Boiled Linseed and Tung Oils would not penetrate and I might as well save my time and leave it alone. So I first used a bit of 600 grit sandpaper and carefully took off the hard polished shell from the handle. Once this was done I put five coats of BLO (DILUTED 2:1 BLO:Mineral Spirits) onto the handles, using all the handle would take per coat, then leaving is wet for an hour before sanding it with more 600 grit to remove the hardened BLO between coats. After I did this five times, I then switched to pure, straight Tung Oil and using the same method, put on three more coats. On the last coat, instead of 600 grit sand paper, I used 1000 grit paper to give it a bit of a luster, then I buffed it lightly on a dry, loose leaf, buffing wheel on a power drill.
Next I peeled off all of the blue tape. One the metal was exposed I took more 600 grit sandpaper and sanding in one direction, along the length of the blade, I knocked the shine off of it and gave if a bit of a Villager look. This part isn't completely done, when it is I will have a uniform, satin finish on the blade rather than the high polish it came with because I intend to use this blade. I prefer the satin look because it hides finger prints and scratches a lot better than the high gloss finish plus it is easier to clean off juices and gunk (though this seems counter-intuitive, it is true but I can't explain it). Finally, I never tried putting Renaissance Wax on wood as a finish before but I read that it is supposed to, as the layers build up, impart that rich luster that gives wood depth. Plus, I do know it is great as a protector against stuff soaking into the wood and staining it. So this plus the oils should really keep the handle looking good for years to come. I put a very light coat onto it, then lightly buffed it off with a cloth.
Enough warty! Let's see it already!
The handle is sound even though it appears cracked. I wish there was a good way to photograph it but I hope this give you an idea of what I am seeing. It looks like a chunk of buttery ice with grain and a rich shine in the sun light in person. Some folks don't care much for light woods but I like all woods, light or dark and for the light ones, Teak, Curly Maple and Neem really seem to be my favorites. I also like the way Neem has a spicy smell to it when you sand it...
So here are some more pix of the Giant Seax, this time verses my "normal sized" one with a Satisal Handle from Dil Kami that I have had now for close to a year but seem not to have gotten around yet to fixing up, much to my shame.
and finally just the Big One in hand...
I hope you all enjoyed this presentation and another addition of show and tell with warty.
First, I carefully taped off all of the metal parts, both to protect the from the sanding and finishing materials and to protect me from cutting myself. I always use the blue masking tape because it comes off easily and leaves no residue behind that I then need to work at removing. This handle came finished and smooth but Santosh had also polished all of the wood pores shut on the felt wheel. So in order for any of what I wanted to work, I had to do a but of sanding to open them back up. Otherwise the Boiled Linseed and Tung Oils would not penetrate and I might as well save my time and leave it alone. So I first used a bit of 600 grit sandpaper and carefully took off the hard polished shell from the handle. Once this was done I put five coats of BLO (DILUTED 2:1 BLO:Mineral Spirits) onto the handles, using all the handle would take per coat, then leaving is wet for an hour before sanding it with more 600 grit to remove the hardened BLO between coats. After I did this five times, I then switched to pure, straight Tung Oil and using the same method, put on three more coats. On the last coat, instead of 600 grit sand paper, I used 1000 grit paper to give it a bit of a luster, then I buffed it lightly on a dry, loose leaf, buffing wheel on a power drill.
Next I peeled off all of the blue tape. One the metal was exposed I took more 600 grit sandpaper and sanding in one direction, along the length of the blade, I knocked the shine off of it and gave if a bit of a Villager look. This part isn't completely done, when it is I will have a uniform, satin finish on the blade rather than the high polish it came with because I intend to use this blade. I prefer the satin look because it hides finger prints and scratches a lot better than the high gloss finish plus it is easier to clean off juices and gunk (though this seems counter-intuitive, it is true but I can't explain it). Finally, I never tried putting Renaissance Wax on wood as a finish before but I read that it is supposed to, as the layers build up, impart that rich luster that gives wood depth. Plus, I do know it is great as a protector against stuff soaking into the wood and staining it. So this plus the oils should really keep the handle looking good for years to come. I put a very light coat onto it, then lightly buffed it off with a cloth.
Enough warty! Let's see it already!
The handle is sound even though it appears cracked. I wish there was a good way to photograph it but I hope this give you an idea of what I am seeing. It looks like a chunk of buttery ice with grain and a rich shine in the sun light in person. Some folks don't care much for light woods but I like all woods, light or dark and for the light ones, Teak, Curly Maple and Neem really seem to be my favorites. I also like the way Neem has a spicy smell to it when you sand it...
So here are some more pix of the Giant Seax, this time verses my "normal sized" one with a Satisal Handle from Dil Kami that I have had now for close to a year but seem not to have gotten around yet to fixing up, much to my shame.
and finally just the Big One in hand...
I hope you all enjoyed this presentation and another addition of show and tell with warty.
