Question about Redwood Burl

[B . Buxton]

Howdy everybody, What do you all do with redwood burl to make it look really nice. I bought a pretty nice block, cut off 2 pieces and stabilized with wood hardener. After it dried good I sanded it down to 600 grit and buffed, to see what it would look like before I applied it to a knife. It doesn't look like much. Its a pretty piece of wood, has really nice figure but no charactor, just blah. Any ideas on what to do to make it really stand out, would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[itrade]

Bill,

Funny you should ask. I've been playing around with some redwood too. I've found anything that darkens it, the luster really fades fast. The best result I have so far is:

Stabilize with B72 (darkened the wood somewhat)
Sand all the way down to A16 (microfinish belt)
Rub in a thin coat of Minwax Polyurethane
A quick buff with green crome

The other method that worked was sand and buff (no chemicals). That didn't darken it, but there was no luster either. However, that won't stand up to normal use.

I tried danish oil, various buffing compounds ... However all them made a murky mess.

Hope that helps.

Steve

(edit)
I forgot to warn you, the Minwax needs a full 24 hours to cure. The green chrome stips young minwax really fast. After 24 hours it holds up fine. Personally I don't like the look of a varnish layer on the wood. I'm still trying to get as thin a cover as will work.

Been playing with it on and off for a few weeks.

 

[indian george]

Bill: Put it back in the hardener with dark red Rite dye.