Waxing a handle...

stickfigureforge

stickfigureforge

Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
85
Hello, all. I just finished up a knife, and have run into an unforeseen issue. The handle is stabilized curly maple, and after shaping and conturing, I felt like the handle was a little flat insofar as how "poppy" the curl was. So, I put a couple coats of Tru Oil on it, and wet sanded respectively at 600 and 1500 grit. It looks just like I wanted it to, but never having used Tru Oil before (as well as not having been around guns enough to know about stock finishing), I wasn't prepared for the smell of the oil, and it not fading after a little while. I wouldn't be concerned about it, but this is a chefs knife and can't very well have it smelling up a knife roll or bag.

So, are there any kind of unscented or maybe good smelling waxes or oils I could use to mask the smell of the Tru Oil, or am I just going to have to deal? Thanks very much!
 
The main issue is that you probably didn't apply the oil right. I would sand the handle down a bit with fine grit paper and let the oil cure/dry for a week or so before trying to "seal" in the oils with a wax coating.

On stabilized curly maple, the heat in buffing often is what makes the curl "POP". Try sanding to a very fine grit and then power buff with a soft buff charged with a small amount of matchless white polish. That is all I ever do to such woods. I don't recommend varnishes or oil finishes on stabilized woods for kitchen knives, anyway. Food grade waxes are OK. They will have to be re-applied from time to time.
 
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