Rosewood handle finish help

D

Dustin Woodward

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Jan 15, 2021
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Hello I recently bought a new boning knife offline and I asked the person selling it if it would be ok to machine wash and they said yes. so I put it in after using it and now what ever they finished the handle with seems to have just came right off. I looked on there website and asked them but came up empty. So I'm planning on finishing it myself and was wanting some suggestions on how I should go about it? It is rosewood not sure what variant.
 
Dustin Woodward said:
Hello I recently bought a new boning knife offline and I asked the person selling it if it would be ok to machine wash and they said yes. so I put it in after using it and now what ever they finished the handle with seems to have just came right off. I looked on there website and asked them but came up empty. So I'm planning on finishing it myself and was wanting some suggestions on how I should go about it? It is rosewood not sure what variant.
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The best I know of to preserve/protect wood besides coating with polyurethane, which I hate, is pure tung oil.
google "milk paint pure tung oil".
It's been my preference for decades.
 
I'd avoid any oils that are from nuts - my two nephews have nut allergies & it's no joke how serious the reaction can be. I thought it was all overblown hype until I saw it happen.

Anyhow - anything used in the kitchen - cutting boards & knife handles - can be finished one of two ways.
The first is to use a two part epoxy.
This will be a permanent solution that should never need to be redone.
There are two drawbacks - #1- it's expensive & it only comes in larger containers - not really worth it for one knife. But - you have to make that call.
West Systems (google it) can steer you in the right direction.

The second is, as jpm2 mentioned, an oil finish.
However - instead of Tung oil (which is a nut oil), I'd recommend mineral oil. Cutting board oil/salad bow oil is sold in small bottles at woodworking stores and online for way overblown prices. It's nothing more than mineral oil, which you can find on the laxative shelf & any pharmacy.
 
From the Grohmann website:

"Dishwashers, outside of damaging wooden handles, also dull blades faster than normal use because of the hitting action against other cutlery, etc. during wash cycles."
"ALWAYS - clean and dry your knife after every use. A safe way is to lay the knife blade on a flat surface and wipe one side then the other. Soaking knives in water or in a sink damages the wooden handles and could prove dangerous hidden under suds. Boiled linseed oil applied to dried rosewood handles helps their appearance."
 
My Grohmann-made Russell Canadian Belt Knife with the rosewood handle and German silver rivets is 30+ years old; the rosewood grips look like new except for wear marks from use, but it has never been through a dishwasher.
 
Hal said:
However - instead of Tung oil (which is a nut oil), I'd recommend mineral oil. Cutting board oil/salad bow oil is sold in small bottles at woodworking stores and online for way overblown prices. It's nothing more than mineral oil, which you can find on the laxative shelf & any pharmacy.
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Tung oil is not a nut oil at all, it is pressed from seed like linseed oil but is more water resistant than linseed.

I agree with mineral oil, which can be bought at hardware stores, pharmacies and online cheaply as "food grade" mineral oil, will work to protect wood, but you'll be needing to reapply often.

The bottom line though, is that wood and knives are not meant to be cleaned in dishwashers and you should only handwash & immediately dry.
 
Tried & True makes boiled linseed oil products, that don't include the heavy metals that most boiled linseed oils have. This makes them food safe.
My choice would be Tried & True Original wood finish. It is a combination of Boiled linseed oil and bees wax.

O.B.
 
Never put any knife in the dishwasher.

Rosewood is a bit oily, so you should be to use the methods above to fix it.
 
I keep a bottle of cutting board oil which is mineral oil in the kitchen. Wooden handles, wooden spoons, cutting boards all get treated when they look dry.

BLO is nasty stuff sticky and smelly, it also can spontaneously combust on rags. I don’t use it for anything anymore.
 
I’ve had good success using Howards Feed & Wax on my wood handled knives.

Regardless of what you were told, never put a wood handled knife in the dishwasher. Immediately hand wash under running water (i.e. don’t let it soak in water) and dry. If carbon steel, wipe with oil (I used mineral). Occasionally, treat the handle with a preservative (Howards or other type). Do that, and it’ll last.
 
Here's why never in the dishwasher and never in a sink of water. A guy asked me to fix up his wife's favorite kitchen knife:

KdO54C8.jpg


Look at the interior of the handle, water caused this:

DAaS7lP.jpg


There was some life in the old girl yet:

qnwwkc2.jpg


Here's the whole story:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/rehab-for-an-old-gal.1478542/

Anyhoo, yeah no, no dishwasher or sink of water.
 
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