What is the best finish for Walnut handles that gives some shine and some protection?

[Steelhog]

Hey all - could us a little advice. Recently I was given a good amount of some nice walnut wood. I made a test knife with some walnut scales and used Danish Oil and paste finishing wax for the finish. The Danish oil looked nice but after buffing the paste finishing wax really dulled the finish and did not give the glossy finish I was expecting. It still looks nice and natural but I would like some more gloss.

What have you found to be the best finish for Walnut (natural/non stabilized) that gives a nice shine and some protection from the elements?

 

[Bühlmann]

I've had good success with Tru-Oil. Add as many coats as you like, a little 0000 steel wool in between coats, until you get the buildup you want then buff to whatever sheen you want. About six coats is the minimum I've used, but the only real limits are the time and patience you have available for the project. It's been a good finish for hunting rifles for decades, so protection should be acceptable for most knife applications short of the extremes.

 

[Hengelo_77]

+1 True oil

 

[C_Claycomb]

Walnut has open pores. These need filling to get a gloss finish. This can be done by wet sanding with either Danish Oil or TruOil, through successive finer grits, starting at 220 and finishing at 1200 at least.

Coat wood in oil, allow to dry, this can be a couple of thinned coats with white spirit. Seals the wood, which tends to soak up a lot on first coat.

Wet sand, not too much oil, just enough to lubricate the paper and make dust slurry/mud. Let it start to dry, keep an eye on it. You want to wipe off most of the slurry before it gets so stiff that it pulls on the cloth rather than wipes off. Doesn’t need to be totally wiped clean at the 220 and 400 grits. Leave to dry thoroughly, seven hours to start, then less as you go finer and wipe off more. TruOil dries faster than Danish.

Early coats are not meant to be building a finish on the wood, but forcing oil/dust slurry into pores and surface grain, and refining the surface. I would suggest two sanding per grit. You may want more at the finer grits, but I would not do less at 220-600. 400grit should be fine enough to tell if you have filled the surface or need a couple more coarse cycles.

You can get a gloss finish without waxing.

note. You can get an incredible finish on walnut following the methods of premium shotgun makers. They do not use TruOil. What is described above is distantly related, but a faster and much less polished process.

 

[Britt_Askew]

I'm a fan of wet sanding Danish oil on natural walnut

 

[Skinner79]

I've tried different finishes but have pretty much settled on Watco Danish Oil because of its ease of application and fast drying time. I saw the "wet sanding" trick on YouTube and tried it and was amazed at how well you could fill pores and small defects. Have used it on walnut with excellent results.

 

[JV Knives]

I also really like Watco Danish Oil for the first step and I finish with Axe Wax. This was before the final wax but with 2 coats of oil. Walnut is just from a local Ohio tree....nothing too fancy.

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

I can't add much more than what has been said already. I flood the handle initially with Watco Danish oil, as it seems to penetrate better than TruOil. Once the wood no longer will take any of the Danish oil, I switch to TruOil, very much akin to the method described above by C Claycomb. I was taught by a gentleman names J Earl Bridges, who was the guy at Hill Country Rifle in charge of the amazing Turkish walnut stocks we would use on our premium rifles.