How To Purpleheart Wood Finish...

A

AbLonewolf

Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
79
Good Day all.
Was wondering how some of you finish purpleheart handles. Last one I did... the handles turned almost dark brown. I used tung oil (2 coats). Was sanded up to 400 grit.
What is the best protective product to maintain the purple color? Any other tips?
I do realize that simple "handling" will make it go darker also.
Thanx in advance...Jay
 
The purple color will darken with age no matter what you do. I sometimes bake the wood to get it to darken early. If you want something that stays that light violet you might have to go synthetic.
 
I sand to about 800 grit, give it a coat or two of Danish oil, and I actually place them in the sun for a few hours. It makes the wood SUPER purple, it does not darken them. But yes, over time PH will darken, and a light resanding/oiling/few hours in the sun will make it super purple again.

Ben Williams 1095 2021.jpg Tom Aiello ATS34 Purple Heart July 31 2020.jpg

A few of my early knives. It's been a while since I have worked with PH. Great wood.
 
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Minwax Tung finish, which is only partly tung. It cures way faster than pure tung, and I did multiple very thin applications with a quick high grit sanding in between, once cured.
 
Some very good tips folks! Reconditioning a vintage Dexter cleaver and the handles will be this material. Will give it a shot. Thanx...
 
Ricky-O said:
Does purpleheart still darken if it is stabilized?
Click to expand...

Yes it will still darken even when stabilized but that helps a lot with checking/shrinkage. You can slow it down with something like uv spar but that color always changes.
 
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