Olive wood looks dirty after sanding

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andybtruckin

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Hi folks. I'm new to this and hoping someone can help me out. I really like working with olive wood, love the look and feel of it. But I find that it looks dirty after I I've worked my up to the finer grits when sanding.
My latest is I put olive wood scales on a Brisa knife blank. It looked great after I glued the scales on and sanded it up to 800. Then I put in the brass pin and thong tube and took it up to 3200 micro mesh. The scales are smooth as silk and shiny but look dirty.
Is this from the brass? What can I do differently to avoid this and is there anything I can do to clean up what I've already done?
 
Having a hard time getting pics with my phone but you can see some of it to the right of the pin.
 

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Looks like open pores in the wood are picking up contaminates, could be from the brass or the abrasive itself.
 
First thing is to seal the pores good, perhaps with CA glue. Sand with 400 grit or so, wipe a coat of CA on, wipe excess off, let dry then sand. Might have to do this a couple of times. The idea is any sanding dust from sanding will be in pores and thin CA glue will fill. Sand the coat off leaving only the CA in the pores.
 
Olive wood sucks up dirt and dust from sanding. It is oily/waxy and the swarf combines to rub into the wood.

I have had luck cleaning olive wood with mineral spirits followed by olive oil. Rub it on and wipe it off several times. Ehen the wood looks clean, wax with a good handle wax like Brix. Rub the wax in with hard pressure and buff well.
 
I had that problem myself as well with some I bought. It looks like Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith identified the problem. I had bought some from one of the knife making companies. The stuff I brought got dirty afterwards too. I had to do a super glue finish on it to keep it clean. I don't know if it matters what type it is. I bought some in Greece from a guy on the street who was making spoons and stuff and just left it raw. I plan on leaving it for something special for myself. He said that the root wood was the best stuff. He bought it by the ton and it cost several times as much. Maybe it just looks better but it might be different. Its a lot heavier than the blocks I bought.
 
The best results with olivewood is to cut it up and let it dry for 10 or more years. Then have it stabilized. I pre-cut the handle shape from the blocks and round the edges after about 5 years. When fully dry, it stabilized well and because a lot of the waste is already gone, it is more economical to get stabilized.

This procedure is a good method with many woods being stabilized. Pre-form the handle blanks and don't pay to stabilize wood you will be sawing and grinding away. About 75% shaped is good.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The best results with olivewood is to cut it up and let it dry for 10 or more years. Then have it stabilized. I pre-cut the handle shape from the blocks and round the edges after about 5 years. When fully dry, it stabilized well and because a lot of the waste is already gone, it is more economical to get stabilized.

This procedure is a good method with many woods being stabilized. Pre-form the handle blanks and don't pay to stabilize wood you will be sawing and grinding away. About 75% shaped is good.
Click to expand...
The wood I purchased I got from a guy who was making finished products about 2 years ago in Greece. I don't suppose you have any idea if that is likely to be ok? It's somewhat sentimental so I want to make sure that it will be ok when I use it. I had planned on sending it to K&G before I use it. Its cut to a couple of long blocks around 1.25" thick.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Olive wood sucks up dirt and dust from sanding. It is oily/waxy and the swarf combines to rub into the wood.

I have had luck cleaning olive wood with mineral spirits followed by olive oil. Rub it on and wipe it off several times. Ehen the wood looks clean, wax with a good handle wax like Brix. Rub the wax in with hard pressure and buff well.
Click to expand...

Thanks Stacy! I spent a few minutes with mineral spirits and olive oil and removed 99% of the crud. I'll work on it a little more before work tomorrow and get some better wax than the Johnson's paste wax I have in the garage.
 
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