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Oil Finishes

jeremy1517

jeremy1517

Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
1,036
Will Danish oil or teak oil work as well as BLO for treating and protecting an axe handle?

I'm looking to put some color into the handle but want it protected.
 
I have pretty good luck with a good oil based stain, which I add to or take away from the mix till the colors suit me then allow to dry for a week or so and then apply multiple coats of teak oil or even Tung Oil varnish for sealing. I have done this with various sized handles for more than 30 years successfully.

Lots of old timers on the farms hereabouts soak their axes in a bucket of coal oil for a few days before use every season. The oils penetrate the handles, swell everything to tightness and shed water. According to the old black powder shooters who used wooden ramrods around here, the coal oil lubricates the wood fibers so that they then can slide against one another without cracking or breaking internally. They claim that a wooden ramrod soaked in coal oil almost can't be broken in use because it can be bent nearly double without being brittle enough to break. The coal oil soaking makes an axe handle look sort of used and abused to me. But I have friends who have done this for 40 years and get enormous use from a handle.
 
Windwhistler said:
I have pretty good luck with a good oil based stain, which I add to or take away from the mix till the colors suit me then allow to dry for a week or so and then apply multiple coats of teak oil or even Tung Oil varnish for sealing. I have done this with various sized handles for more than 30 years successfully.

Lots of old timers on the farms hereabouts soak their axes in a bucket of coal oil for a few days before use every season. The oils penetrate the handles, swell everything to tightness and shed water. According to the old black powder shooters who used wooden ramrods around here, the coal oil lubricates the wood fibers so that they then can slide against one another without cracking or breaking internally. They claim that a wooden ramrod soaked in coal oil almost can't be broken in use because it can be bent nearly double without being brittle enough to break. The coal oil soaking makes an axe handle look sort of used and abused to me. But I have friends who have done this for 40 years and get enormous use from a handle.
Click to expand...

When you say "coal oil" is that the same thing as kerosene?
 
jeremy1517 said:
Will Danish oil or teak oil work as well as BLO for treating and protecting an axe handle?

I'm looking to put some color into the handle but want it protected.
Click to expand...

Yes, maybe even better. :thumbup:

Danish Oil is a blend of BLO and Poly and thinner. It soaks in and hardens. My favorite wood finish.
 
Yes,

Today, coal oil and Kerosene are the same. There was historically a different type of coal oil but in the last century or so Kerosene and coal oil have been used interchangeably. Sorry, I am over 60 and use some antiquated terminology.

As I said, it can make a handle super tough but it also gives hickory and ash a pale grayish look that I don't like. I have friends that love to use it for longevity and I have and still do soak some ramrods in it every year. If I make my ramrods of a darker wood like black walnut (which is almost a trash tree around here) the soaking doesn't change their color much, only their shine. And black powder will eliminate their shine pretty fast anyway.
 
I like cheap helmsman urethane spar varnish thinned with about a third mineral spirits and rubbed on in two or three coats. The spar varnish has several good attributes: one, it is heavy in oil and has some non-poly resins so it cures a little softer and is not as apt to crack and craze; two, it has some UV protection to prevent fading of stain and reduce wood damage; three, it isn't super slick or super sticky; finally it cures quickly and allows 2 or three thin coats in a couple of days. It can be used after curing overnight if necessary although 2 or three days after the final coat is preferable..
 
The more I use axes and hatchets, the more I appreciate bare wood. In treating handles, less is more IMO. My favorite texture of handle is untreated. My next favorite is lightly treated with a natural oil like flax or walnut oil. I avoid anything that contains lacquer or urethane. They are great products, and I use them on other projects. However, the super smooth, "plasticy" finish I find to be uncomfortable in extensive use with axes. It tends to create more heat and more blisters. If I want to color the wood I use water based dyes. Water based leather dyes are easy to use and readily available.
 
I like a tung oil finish on my handles. It's grippier than BLO and provides a little more protection.
 
I treated one my axes with several coats of Danish Oil. The handle turned a weird color with it. Doesn't matter though. I like the feel.
 
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