Treating Wood Handles

W

Will Kwan

Joined
Nov 23, 1998
Messages
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I have tried treating my wood handles with tung oil and linseed oil. Linseed oil leaves a harder finish. I am happy with double boiled linseed oil. Tung oil penetrates deeper but does not harden on the surface of the wood.

Using tung oil is rather new to me. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Will
 
Will,
Use a hair-dryer on low to drive the oil deep into the wood, use more than one coat, then use two coat of a good paste wax.
Dan
 
:
Will:
I use the linseed oil as well and have been very happy with it so far.
I have tried some of the other oils, but not enough to form an opinion as yet.

I was oiling some fresh cut Bois D'Arc today to hopefully prevent it from cracking with vegetable oil.
I don't know what the long term affects wll be, but getting the veggie oil on my hands and then on the handle of my new GRS made it look real nice.
After some extended use the handle seemed to be less slick in my hand than it was when I first started.
This wasn't from the slickness of the oil, but the new handle itself.

Just for what it's worth.

------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®

The hardy adventurer just drank from a stream he thought was pure glacier fed water not knowing that upstream was being used by a herd of yaks as a giant bidet.

I said he was hardy, not smart.:-)

Khukuri FAQ
 
My dad has been a woodworker for 45+ years and swears by mineral oil for natural finish wood such as that found on khuk handles. I've used it on my 20" AK and it looks great--apply generously and let wood absorb as much as it will then wipe off excess. Also used it on a bokken made of japanese white oak and a jo made of same wood with great success. Mineral oil is also great for blades--need proof? Well, "so called" clove oil that is used on katanas is mineral oil that is scented like cloves, some katanas that are many hundreds of years old have been maintained largely by application of mineral oil, and many still look as good as new (polishing on some notwithstanding).
Have heard good things about linseed oil's results, but it is not nearly as safe to handle and the danger of spontaineous combustion if not disposed of properly kind of swayed me towards mineral oil.

There's my 2 cents.

Rob
 
Thanks for the info Dan, Yvsa, and Rob.

Dan, I'll try the hair dryer trick with my next khukuri. I have been happy with linseed oil too. It hardens the wood up nicely and makes it more durable. Tung oil is suppose to do the same. It might but it is too early to tell on the handle I used it on.

Yvsa, I don't know the shape of the wood you are working with. With long pieces of wood, wood workers that I know, tightly seal the ends in a plastic bag and elastics. This allows the wood to cure and prevents the ends from drying too fast. The different shrinkage rates cause long piece of wood to crack at the ends.

Rob, I did not know mineral oil has been around that long. I guess if it didn't rot out katana handles and scabbards it should not rot out my khukuri sheaths.

I have not had spontaneous combustion due to linseed oil yet. I lay my rags so that the surfaces are well exposed.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 04-09-2000).]
 
Will,

I don't know if the mineral oil was used on the scabbards or handles of katana, but I know that it was used on the blades.

Uncle,
I haven't heard of any either but, it warns against that on the can that I have...
Like other oils etc. that say that, if they are disposed of properly I doubt there's any real danger.

Rob

[This message has been edited by MauiRob (edited 04-09-2000).]
 
Thanks for the warning Rob. I used mineral oil on my cane that I got after I took a tumble last fall.

Will
 
Just a note: mineral oil comes as light and heavy. Use the light stuff for your wooden handles.

Harry
 
I have tried treating my wood handles with tung oil and linseed oil. Linseed oil leaves a harder finish. I am happy with double boiled linseed oil. Tung oil penetrates deeper but does not harden on the surface of the wood.
Click to expand...

Hi Will,

I haven't used Tung oil (it's not available in Europe AFAIK) but both are hardening oils. Tung oil can be used on spear shafts to harden the wood so it can take higher impact during a fight.

However, I don't see a functional reason to use any hardening oil on wood grips (because hardness is not an issue) with blades which will be used a lot. Display knives are easier to care for with hardening oils but I'm not collecting "wall hangers".

Beeswax seems to be best to keep the wood "alive" (absorbing sweat et al.) without losing an optimal grip (and preventing blisters).

Use a hair-dryer to heat the wood and during applying the wax and thoroughly scrape off any excess wax. You can do some polishing but you won't get a really shiny surface. I'm experimenting with beeswax/oil mixtures to enhance/ease penetration but don't have results yet.

Best wishes,
kai
 
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