WD40 'wrecking' wooden knife handle colour

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ozgooner

ozgooner

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I recently purchased second hand (not from this Exchange) a Bark River Drop Point Hunter with Purple Heart handles, a thing of beauty judging by the stock pic:

DPH_Purple_Heart.jpg


The seller posted that the handles had darkened due to being kept in an airtight container, however when I received it today, the knife itself was sealed in a snap-lock bag, the whole thing stinks of WD40, and the handle is near enough brown rather than anything close to the Purple Heart colour.

Before I take this guy to task, is there any way of reversing this process or is it too far gone with the WD40 impregnating the wood and effectively ruining it? (I'm away on holiday and not sure I have the facilities to post pics of the knife in its current state until I get home next week).
 
You didn't see any pictures of the actual knife before buying it? I only have one Bark River. A necker with maroon micarta scales. The scales we're much darker (more dark brown than reddish brown) compared to the stock photos, and they were brand new. They seem to get darker with use too. Don't know if it can be reversed, but even then they might not look like you expect from the stock photos.
 
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I've brought the color back on some cocobolo and osage orange scales by lightly sanding with 1200g, 1500g & then finishing with 2000 grit sandpaper. The cocobolo & osage orange had gotten darker from being handled over time, so I don't know if you'll get the same results with scales that have been sprayed with WD-40.
 
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I'd like to see some photos of your knife. Stock photos and actual knives sometimes are quite different. Especially with exotic wood like purple heart.
 
mossyhorn said:
I'd like to see some photos of your knife. Stock photos and actual knives sometimes are quite different. Especially with exotic wood like purple heart.
Click to expand...

I should be able to get some photos up tonight (my time). Yes there were photos of the knife but they were dark and distant and certainly didn't give the best idea of the current state of the knife.
 
You may have a problem if WD-40 was used on the handle. It will penetrate the wood and alter the finish. If used a lot it can make it soft. It would pose no problem if only used on the blade. They're much better products on the market than WD-40..
 
WD-40 won't hurt purpleheart--it's just mineral oil and mineral spirits. Purpleheart is often brown, actually, and it can turn brown when exposed to light. Sanding may reveal purple underneath, but exposure to light will once again make it go brown. It's just the nature of the beast with purpleheart and verawood, among others.
 
Like mentioned, for some reason Bark River's own pics are very "bright", maybe it's a selling point, or those pics show more detail. Their picture of natural canvas is very light in color, when I got my machete, it was much darker in reality, and in my own pics.

Was the handle slick, oily when you opened up the bag? Had the whole knife been sprayed?
 
Purple-heart does darken over time with use and exposure.

It's common with many woods including Dessert Ironwood, Osage Orange and IPA.



That Said, your knife is a Bark River, you can always send it in for the "SPA Treatment",

...it should come back good as new. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:





Big Mike
 
Having just stumbled on this thread, I'm the one who sold this knife to the OP. I've used WD40 for cleaning on all all my knives with no problems and like to ship knives sprayed in WD40 wrapped in a zip lock bag in case the package gets wet. I've sold countless knives this way and never had any complaints.

On the sales thread, I used both the original factory photo and a recent photo of the knife with more brownish handles:

http://www.australianbladeforums.com/vb4/showthread.php?3300-Bark-River-Loveless-Drop-Point-Hunter-SOLD

I remember the knife arriving a couple years ago having more a slight brown/purple color on the handles, and when I pulled it out of storage (I wrap all my knives in a mineral oil soaked cotton cloth in a zip lock bag) it seemed darker to me, which is why I disclosed it in the sales thread and took a recent picture of it.

In my experience, I've not had WD40 or any other lubricant/cleaner discolor wood handles.

My advice is to wipe off the handles with a dry cotton cloth and let air dry a day or two and see if that helps.
 
Sorry for the lack of update. I've just got back from holiday interstate.

Having been in a warm, sunny, breezy climate the last couple of weeks, I actually have already done what jmboz suggested and let the knife sit on a shelf in a well ventilated room and it has certainly improved the feel of it, and there is also more of a purple tinge to the wood than when I first received it.

This, coupled with the other input in this thread about the natural darkening of such 'exotic' timbers, means I have no issue with the purchase at all. It is far and away one of the most comfortable knives I have ever owned.
 
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