Removing Boiled Linseed oil

This is the hatchet fully sanded. The tomahawk is a cold steel trail hawk. When I got it, the hawks handle looked just as light as the hatchet does now. The current color of the hawk handle came from only repeated applications of jojoba oil, not stain. Jojoba is sold in most markets and health food stores as a skin conditioner, and in hardware stores as a high end hardwood floor finish. At least one vintage tool website touts it as a good finish for metal. When I apply it to wood, I just leave the remainder of oil on my hands, it's nice stuff. I originally got it to mix with shaving soap, but it was no good for that. I applied it to wood, because as mentioned above, I read about using it on hardwood floors.

 
Within a month or so, with repeated applications, the hatchet handle will look like the tomahawk handle.
 
Both look really good. Love the color on the tomahawk! I'll have to try some of the joboba oil sounds like another good do-all product.

I have heard of using Tru-oil on metal as well, typically for a protective coat over case colors on vintage firearms.
 
I would be afraid that anything used to remove linseed or any oil from the handle might effect the integrity of the wood in the long run. I've been treating wood for many years but have never been faced with having, or wanting to extract the conditioners from it. Tricky. I know the boiled linseed oil will evaporate before the raw....it penetrates more too, but I would just try to go over it with the oil that you like vs trying to extract or displace the linseed oil.
 
Thanks Dan and GB. The article about jojoba and floors referred to jojoba as colorless. The stuff I get is amber, which I like, I think it's a lower grade. I'm fine with that because it's still pricy. I don't know if you have a trader joe's market near you, but that's the cheapest place I've found. $8.00 for 6oz. That works for me because I don't have many pieces. I'll use the cheaper BLO for shovel handles etc... The jojoba absorbs so fast that I'm putting on a new layer every 20 minutes. The color is already starting to show.

Metal0321, see a few posts up, I already removed the BLO, and re-finished the handle, it was quite a labor intensive process.
 
vcbvcbvcb said:
Thanks Dan and GB. The article about jojoba and floors referred to jojoba as colorless. The stuff I get is amber, which I like, I think it's a lower grade. I'm fine with that because it's still pricy. I don't know if you have a trader joe's market near you, but that's the cheapest place I've found. $8.00 for 6oz. That works for me because I don't have many pieces. I'll use the cheaper BLO for shovel handles etc... The jojoba absorbs so fast that I'm putting on a new layer every 20 minutes. The color is already starting to show.

Metal0321, see a few posts up, I already removed the BLO, and re-finished the handle, it was quite a labor intensive process.
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Ok, I see. :) I bet it was a chore. There's lots of literature about boiled vs raw and which is better, but if you found something you like, and it's good for the wood...then that's good.
 
I"ve done about 8-9 axe, hatchet handles. What I learned was that a LITTLE b.l.o. goes a long way. On virgin wood, unvarnished, a good wet wipe was left for about a week to absorb. Then any other coats had to be VERY thin and lite with weeks or months drying time between. It is very easy to over do b.l.o. and have a sticky mess. I over did this to one axe and I wiped it down with alcohol, which helped but didn"t fully clear it up. Time took care of that, like half a year. I would say that I have between 2 and 4 coats on all my wood handles. Now it is just a very thin light wipe once a year. Yes some come out nicely with wood grain but that is not my primary focus. I just touch them up once a year to prevent the wood from drying out and cracking. When they get used and get dirty and dinged up here and there, I touch them up a wee bit, so they will never be beauty queens. But a very light wipe does bring them back to a higher level of eye attraction.....and is preventative maintenance. I can understand the attraction of wood grain. But chopping tools, at least in my case, seem to end up with some scratches and dings that can"t be avoided.
 
I'd like to qualify my posts regarding jojoba oil. I also treated my Husqvarna multipurpose axe with jojoba oil. I don't know if the wood came from the factory treated. If so, I don't know with what, or if inhibited the absorption of the jojoba oil. I applied jojoba to the wood multiple times, maybe 25 times over the last 2 years. It darkened the wood and brought out the grain, but not as much as the CS tomahawk. I think both companies state that they use "American Hickory". I don't know if that refers to a variety of tree (wood) or if it's actually grown in the U.S. My guess is that there are differences in the wood since the axe handle didn't get as dark as the tomahawk handle. I have already applied about 15 coats to the new hatchet handle. The wood grain is coming out and it's darkening. However, my guess is that it's not going to get as dark as the tomahawk handle, but it's just been a week. So here's my disclaimer, mileage my vary with individual pieces of wood, even though they may all be American Hickory.











 
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