New Haft Finish... Part 2!!!

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Glock17JHP

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Aug 23, 2007
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I am so happy with this 'Charcoal Wash' finish I developed!!!

If you recall, I tested it on a 'Walking Staff'... does this picture look familiar?
This is a 'before & after' on the wood... see the 3-toned finish?

UnfinishedvsCharcoalWashSemi-Gloss.jpg


OK, I had said I intended to eventually put this finish on my 'Cold Steel' Frontier Hawk... right? Well, I had some free time today, so...

Here is the Frontier Hawk before I started, this picture is from a couple of months (?) back...

ColdSteelFrontierHawk2.jpg


OK, now this is the haft today, just before application of the 'Charcoal Wash' finish... this is a close-up of the wood...

FrontierHawkHaftUnfinished2.jpg


I applied the 'Charcoal Wash' 2 times... this is how it looked after the 2nd application... this is a close-up of the wood after this 2nd application...

FrontierHawkHaftCharcoal22.jpg


I will post another picture of the Hawk after completion, and after the head is re-installed... I might even go with a 3rd application of the 'Charcoal Wash' finish before I re-install the head...

It almost looks the color of dark-roasted coffee!!! I like it!!! :thumbup:
 
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I think I invented this 'finish'...

Here is the process...

I sand the wood a bit first to remove the factory laquer/sealant, then drop a Kingsford charcoal briquette in a bowl of hot tap water (as hot as the tap allows). After an hour or two, I take the bowl and the haft out on the concrete patio, and scoop handfulls of the 'mud' out onto the haft, and rub it into the wood by hand. I keep adding handfulls until I start getting tired, and then stop adding but keep rubbing it in. It gets drier and drier, until it becomes dry to the touch. Then I set it aside to thoroughly dry, and that is one application. It is abrasive, and feels like sand-water. It actually aids in the sanding process as you rub this stuff into the wood. You rub with this stuff the same way as you would sand the haft by hand, lengthwise with the grain. It is a bit rough on the hands, though...
 
I like it. A few questions if you don't mind:

I wonder why is the walking stick 3-toned and the hawk haft almost black?
How has it held up?
Do you plan to add an oil finish or something else over it?
 
Questions are always OK!!!

The 'walking staff' had the 'Charcoal Wash' treatment, and then was sanded after that just a bit. Before it was sanded, it was 2-toned, dark gray and sort of a carmel-brown color... depending on the grain (differing hardnesses) of the wood. The sanding re-exposed some of the light-colored grain again.

The hawk haft has almost no visible grain (except what little you see in the close-up pictures), so the color is 1-toned. As far a why it came out dark brown (like dark-roasted coffee beans)? I am not sure... the charcoal was the same, from the same bag, in fact. And the 'Charcoal Wash' solution was definitely BLACK, resembling black liquid shoe polish!!!

BTW, I did add a 3rd application to the hawk haft later after the last picture that is showing the 2nd application. It didn't get any darker, as far as my eyes can see.

All I can say is, I really like it. I'm kinda' thinking this 'finish' might turn our different every time!!!

I was thinking about sanding it real lightly before I finish it off with a few ultra-light coats of satin poly... if it looks worse after the sanding, I could just add another 'Charcoal Wash' application before I add the satin poly... I want to experiment!!!
 
I might have to try this on a spare. I think that color brown with an oil finish would look great, I just wonder how durable it would be. The poly should seal it up OK though.

(I really like the three-toned finish on the staff, wish I could duplicate that!)
 
The only way I think you could duplicate the 3-toned finish would be to have the wood be soft like pine... and that, obviously would not be good for a tomahawk...

I honestly think this 'Charcoal Wash' finish looks cool, but you are correct when you question the durability of it overall. It sands off too easy!!! I sanded it yesterday, and it turned out LOUSY!!! I ended up having to re-apply the 'Charcoal Wash' finish...

Another point I have discovered, you don't want to pre-sand the wood before applying the 'Charcoal Wash' finish with finer than 340 grit sandpaper... finer grades make the wood too 'smooth' to accept the 'Charcoal Wash' finish well...
 
I figure I might as well re-do the head as well... it it slightly beat-up on the cutting edge (slight dings, minor chips, etc) after all the throwing it has been through...

I took it (just the head) to work today, and used a scotch-brite wheel (on a bench grinder) on all surfaces except the actual 'edge'... then I used a stone wheel (smooth, like a whet stone, but also on a bench grinder) to re-do the edge. It is better now than when I first re-finished the head before!!!

I took this picture first with the flash, but that was too bright and reflected too much light for me. My main goal here was to show the edge without the lighting being too 'bright'... So I experimented and tried a ceiling-mounted light. It worked for me, but that is why the lighting has a 'yellowish' look to it in this picture... I am purposely leaving most of the imperfections on the metal... it's part of my 'rustic' look thing...

ColdSteelFrontierHawkHead.jpg
 
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I've achieved that look with ebony stain in the past.. I like your "green" approach..:thumbup:
 
Thanks, brother 'rocket'...
I was trying to have it be a natural process...

I have some future ideas: coffee grounds, crushed cranberries, Welch's grapejuice, etc...
Some of the ideas are weird, but who knows the outcome???
I might even 'slice' a haft so I can try multiple samples on 1 haft's-worth of wood???

I have the satin poly now, so the 'finished' product (no pun intended) should be right around the corner...
 
OK... question to anyone who can answer it...

I have applied 3 coats of the indoor/outdoor satin poly... the last 2 coats have a 'hazy' almost 'frosted' look... and the poly surface has a very slight 'rough' feel to the touch, as well...
I am a bit afraid to sand, because I don't want to remove the poly protection to the 'Charcoal Wash' finish, plus I am afraid of actually getting into the 'Charcoal Wash' finish, too...

I don't want to do anything that might put me in a position to have to start over... Should I try super-fine sandpaper to remove the haziness/roughness?
Would steel wool be a better idea?

Not sure how to proceed... need some advice here...
 
You call that blushing, was the humidity high when you put the finish on?I would just sand and reapply--Butch
 
Actually, yes... it was humid... there have been a lot of thunderheads visible, and the humidity is likely at least 80-90%... the temperature is around 95 degrees, too...

The actual 'feel' to the finish is more of a fuzzy/velvety feel... much more so than a 'rough' feel... it looks 'fragile' enough to remove easily...

Wouldn't steel wool be safer to use than sandpaper?
Remember, I am afraid of removing so much of the poly that I get into the 'Charcoal Wash' finish... the poly is thin at this point...

If sandpaper is the best method, can you suggest a grit size?

And I suppose the best thing for the future is to do the coating early in the morning when it is cool, and perhaps lower humidity?

Please pardon all the questions, I am a 'newby' at this whole 'finishing' thing, and I want to play it safe... don't want extra work if it can be avoided...
 
I 'Googled': wood finishing blushing on the internet today...

Did my research, and decided to try 0000 Steel Wool on the poly...

It worked very well, did not get 'into' the finish under the poly... in fact, it didn't really get much 'into' the poly, either...

I just need to choose the days more carefully for when I re-apply a coat or 2 more of the satin poly for good measure... weather forecast is for dryer weather the next 5 days at least...

Goody-goody-gumdrops!!!
 
Kept doing the poly satin spray on the haft and the walking staff... let it dry, lightly rub with the 0000 SW... repeat...
Each coat of poly I am applying thinner than the one before, each rub with the SW is a lighter touch... repeat... repeat...
I think the coat last night is the last... just need to let it dry 100%...

Both projects look and feel a lot better...

Pictures to follow after completion of drying for both and hawk head reinstall...
 
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