Overwhelmed by finish choices

Joined
Jan 25, 2023
Messages
17
Hey all. I've done a lot of googling on the best way to finish knives and I've found A LOT of answers and I'm just as confused now as I was before. I gather that much of this is a matter of opinion and/or which option is best for a particular job, but I was hoping to get some help getting everything in one place.

Here is what I've gathered so far.

Ren wax/paste wax: final coat to bring out lustre and protect finish. I think these can be used for the same purpose but ren wax is preferred? Also- can they be used on both handle and blade?

Aluminum polish: good for extremely dense hard woods like ironwood.

Various oil finishes: teak/tung, mother's, etc. Good for porous hardwoods.

Anything im missing here?

Bonus question: how would you finish greenheart? Obviously super hard, but feels more graining/porous than ironwood.

Thanks!
 
Wax: I have a different opinion on Ren Wax than many others. Lets run some cowboy logic analytics on this deal. Lets see, Ren Wax is designed to protect things in an optimally climate controlled place, things that are literally handled with white gloves when they are touched. We call these places museums. Pretty much not how my knives are used. Bout 15 years ago I quit Ren Wax and switched to a wax thats designed to protect from mud, hot sun, snow, rain, sleet, dust, wind etc. Kinda more like real life than a museum. I've been using Mother's Carnauba Car Wax ever since and have never looked back. Every knife that leaves this rancho has 2 - 3 coats on it from tip to stern.

Ironwood: hand sand to 800 grit and then switch to 3M polishing papers. I start at 600, 1200 and then 4000. Light buffing with pink scratchless and all done except the waxing:

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Oil Finishes. I started with Watco Danish oil a billion years ago. I've experimented with bout every other oil out there and have come back to Watco Danish Oil for many years now. I wet sand it in:

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I use it on stabilized woods too. Just not as many coats:

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Have never used greenheart.
 
I'm not a fan of Ren Wax either. I use Bowling Alley Wax, and like it. Handle finishing is dependent on the type of material. Most get sanded and buffed and that is about all. I've never heard of using aluminum polish on wood handles. I would be leery of that.
 
I did a test of products to test protection from corrosion on low alloy steel and Ren wax did not do very well. The best results was oil mixed with wax which is basically a lip balm.
 
Greenheart is very dense and strong. Makes great decks and patio furniture.

The pores would need to be sealed for a knife handle. I would suggest applying sanding sealer, letting it get tacky, and sanding it off several times to fill the pores. Then use a carnauba wax like Horsewright suggested.

Trivia:
Greenheart was used in shipbuilding because it resisted borers and rot as well as the fact that it is one of the stiffest woods in the world. It was used on Ernest Shackelton's ship, The Endurance, for his voyage the artic. When the ship was found last year, over 100 years after it sank, the greenheart wood hull was in remarkable shape, showing no damage or aging.
 
Rennaisance Wax is also designed to be easy to apply and wipe off-as Horsewright said on items that see no use. It's also expensive.
Neutral paste shoe polish hols up much better. Car wax is good, too.
 
Many woods don't need finish, just hand sand as high as you like.
You can go from 2500 to 12.000 in 5-10 minutes
 
Hmm, test the specific wood first. Some woods don't benefit from more than 600-800.
I use a hard paste wax made from canaubra and bees wax. I don't like the idea of using random products that may have potentially toxic or allergenic ingredients on a kitchen knife.

You also missed the option of infusing the wood with plastic and just buffing it, aka stabilisation
 
I recently became an Axe Wax dealer (there’s the disclaimer 😂). I haven’t had the chance to use it myself just yet, but the feedback I’ve received from makers has been pretty overwhelmingly positive. It’s a food safe, hardening wax that can be used on both handles, and blades. Since I haven’t used it myself, I only picked up a case as trial.

I made a bunch of mini tins of the product to give out on BladeForums to see how it performs for people. If you would like, I’d gladly send you a sample to try out on the house. :)

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I have used Mother's Mag Wheel polish (aluminum polish). In my use, it works great as a hand buff polish on hard and closed pore woods. It also works on pins and bolsters (which is my favorite use of the product), but not super effective on hard steel. It smells awful, but it wipes off easily from smooth surfaces. It puts a nice mirror shine on surfaces, but you definitely do NOT want this stuff INSIDE the wood, either pores or discoloring light color woods. It creates a kind of ugly gray slurry that could work into the surface of some woods. I try to cautiously tape the wood when using it on bolsters.

I pretty much follow Horsewright Horsewright on procedures. He has posted his processes a few times, and it works for me.
 
I recently became an Axe Wax dealer (there’s the disclaimer 😂). I haven’t had the chance to use it myself just yet, but the feedback I’ve received from makers has been pretty overwhelmingly positive. It’s a food safe, hardening wax that can be used on both handles, and blades. Since I haven’t used it myself, I only picked up a case as trial.

I made a bunch of mini tins of the product to give out on BladeForums to see how it performs for people. If you would like, I’d gladly send you a sample to try out on the house. :)

I will happily take you up on that! I'll keep an eye out for that signup thread.
 
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