Tru-oil users got a question.

J

Justin Presson

Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Messages
891
Got a question. I have been using truoil on a few knives and i like it. But
how do you keep it off the spine and ricaso areas? I try to wipe it off after each coat before it gets tacky with some alcohol. Just didn't know if there was any tricks to it especially where the handle meets the ricaso seems to give me problems I try not to wipe it off the wood at the same time.
Justin
 
That is a good question when using TruOil. This is what I do. When applying Tru Oil to handles.....I don't worry one single bit about oil getting on the blade or spine or ricasso....or anywhere. For those of you who aren't familiar with Tru Oil....it dries hard. So after all the coats have been added and dried, and you have some dried oil on areas that you don't want it......take Acetone and use it on a Q tip for the spine and ricasso areas. The acetone will eat thru the TruOil like no body's business, just be careful not to get acetone on your handle finish. That's all there is to it. It will look good when done!
 
I will give that a shot stuart, but I can tell it will be tough to not ruin the finish. Acetone does worry me a bit but I guess you just have to be careful.
 
I am finishing a handle with Tru-Oil right now. I just have the blade in a paper towel sheath covered with tape. I used tape to mask everything between the handle and the blade.
 
You can do masking tape, as I4marc suggested for sure. For me....it's easier and faster to use the acetone w/q tips, and just be careful not to get it on the wood handle finish!!! No problem at all! You won't ruin the finish! Just make sure to use a Q tip or something the width, or preferably slightly thinner, than your exposed tang.
 
I rarely use any finishes on my knife scales of hardwood but when I do I mask off the steel spine and underside with automotive pin stripping tape. I mail ordered mine and it covers the spines on most of my knives. I pull it off after rubbing in a coat of finish or even spraying a thin coat of semi gloss acrylic while the finish IS WET so the finish when dry does not have a sharp ridge where the tape edges were. I do not know any other way but I'm sure that I am not the first one to think of this simple solution. Larry
 
I know what tape you are talking about Larry that's a good idea I could flex it around the front of the handle scales too.
 
I use tru oil and was worried about the same problem, so I bought some "artist's tape" at Walgreen's (which I'd imagine is pretty similar to the pinstripe tape - it's 1/8" wide). However, I didn't end up using it. I found the Q-tip method worked well, and even though most of my stock is 1/8" and thus perfect for the tape, I figured that any width variation left over from flattening or grinding would leave spots where either 1) the tape didn't cover part of the tang and thus left it exposed to finish or 2)the tape overlapped onto the wood and thus prevented finish from reaching it in that spot.

Because truoil is an oil finish (go figure!), it absorbs into the wood, kind of like a stain, before it polymerizes (i.e. hardens), rather than just covering the surface like a poly topcoat. So, I found that if my tang was finished up to a nice high grit (2k or higher), most of the truoil that didn't absorb into the wood would wipe right off the tang as I was wiping the oil into the handle (I use coffee filters, still the best lint-free "cloth" i've found). After applying a coat, I'd take a dry Q-tip and take a pass along the tang, holding the Q-tip at about a 45 degree angle (a 90 degree angle, i.e., straight up and down would work too but its a little harder to keep it steady for my shaky hands). That takes care of any residual oil left on the tang that didn't simply wipe off. The dry Q-tip works while the finish is still wet; if I notice a splotch or two on the tang after the finish has become dry or even just tacky, I'll do another pass with the Q-tip soaked in a LITTLE bit of mineral spirits. Just enough to moisten the tip and loosen the unwanted spot, but not enough to wring out onto the handle wood.

That seems to have worked for me so far.
 
When I oil handles, the finish is IN the wood, not ON the wood. The oil on the tang wipes off when I wipe the excess off the wood between coats.
 
Willie, Tru Oil will soak right on into the wood. It's not like it's just a coating like poly or something like that. It's actually both, I suppose. Not sure what the actual formulation is, linseed oil and some other stuff anyway. It's just different than "oil" in that it dries hard. As far as finishing wood with a natural look.....Tru Oil is it for me. I worked at a custom gun shop for a while, and the guy who did the stocks (from scratch....incredible to watch him work....with turkish walnut blanks that were $6000 to start off with!!! whoah....I would be scared to death to mess it up) used Tru Oil exclusively for his finishes. The best way to use the stuff is to "rub" it in with wet/dry sandpaper...as fine as you want to go. The swarf that is made fills all the little pores. He would just pour some on a lint free towel to transfer it to the stock, and then take 2500 grit paper (after sanded to finish grit), and sand with the oil as a lube. This filled the pores up....and he would just wipe off the excess. He never let a "coat" of oil sit on the wood to dry. That produces a poly-like glossy layer on the wood....which I don't care for. The satin finish looks best IMHO, and to do that, you do indeed wipe off any excess. The stuff does dry fast, so you have to learn to use it. I will say this about it.....Tru Oil is a thick oil....and as such will not penetrate like some other oils. I have heard of wood workers thinning it down, maybe with mineral spirits, not too sure about the thinning medium, tho. I haven't tried that, but it might just make the stuff a little easier to work with. Just didn't want you to think Tru Oil is a coating. It CAN be, depending on how you use it!
 
Samuraistewart, what I was referring to was the mistake a lot of people make in leaving the excess on the surface thinking it will give them more gloss. The gloss comes from the refinement of the wood prep, not a thick coat. There should be little if any on the surface to worry about. Tru Oil is on a continuum of oil finishes. Tung oil has the least varnish in it, Danish oil has 25% varnish in it. Tru Oil has more varnish than danish oil, but they don't list the exact amount. I thin my Tru Oil 25%, so its still more varnish than Danish oil, but it soaks in better, and wet sands better without getting gummy. If you thin more, you are basically making Danish oil, and I already have that :).
 
That is true, for sure. What Willie just said about the final finish of the wood affecting the final look of the oil. The more work you put into it......the better the results!! I love the stuff, because just by how you work it, it can produce a satin...or gloss finish. I have a can of Danish Oil. Watco. I've had it for years. Haven't used it in a while because I'm worried it might not be up to snuff. It's just a few years old maybe 5 or 6...not like I left it open or anything. Do you think it's still good to go? I don't know if these oils have a shelf life or not???
 
The Danish oil doesn't have a shelf life AFAIK. My favorite finish is the Danish oil, but it takes on average 10 days to do. The wood feels like soapstone when done with a nice satin sheen. It doesn't have the plasticky feel the Tru oil does. Customers like glossy though :grumpy:.
 
Willie71 said:
Samuraistewart, what I was referring to was the mistake a lot of people make in leaving the excess on the surface thinking it will give them more gloss. The gloss comes from the refinement of the wood prep, not a thick coat. There should be little if any on the surface to worry about. Tru Oil is on a continuum of oil finishes. Tung oil has the least varnish in it, Danish oil has 25% varnish in it. Tru Oil has more varnish than danish oil, but they don't list the exact amount. I thin my Tru Oil 25%, so its still more varnish than Danish oil, but it soaks in better, and wet sands better without getting gummy. If you thin more, you are basically making Danish oil, and I already have that :).
Click to expand...

I am fairly sure that you are confusing Tung Oil with Tung Oil Finish. Tung Oil is just a drying oil while Tung Oil Finish has other things in it like thinners and varnishes.
 
ponderingturtle said:
I am fairly sure that you are confusing Tung Oil with Tung Oil Finish. Tung Oil is just a drying oil while Tung Oil Finish has other things in it like thinners and varnishes.
Click to expand...

Pure tung oil is not readily available. You have to search for it. I used to type all that out, but don't bother anymore. If you search out pure tung oil, you know the difference :).
 
Willie71 said:
Pure tung oil is not readily available. You have to search for it. I used to type all that out, but don't bother anymore. If you search out pure tung oil, you know the difference :).
Click to expand...
unless you buy online I guess. Rockler and Amazon both have it turn up high in search results.
 
Hi guys,
do you think is it possible to fill the rotten voids with using oils? I would prefer not to toss the handle which made me the funky surprise in the last steps of shaping ;) but i fear to resort to superglue or epoxy, because i'm afraid it would fight with the oil finish i'm after. BTW the knife it's not going anywhere, it's just for me.
Any suggested technique, preparations?
thanks

Ste
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top