- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 11,783
Thanks!
Short answer: MinWax PolyShades, Bombay Mahogany Satin-- "Stain and Polyurethane in 1 Step."
Long answer: for my first pretend attempt, I lightly sanded the handle and colored it with a brown sharpie (middle knife below):
Which of course rubbed off (not a bad thing-- heh):
Next, I sanded the handle again, removed the locking ring, and applied MinWax Wood Finish (yellow can), Red Mahogany. However, the finish used on the handles of the Opinel Carbon knives goes deep-- altogether a good thing, given that most people will leave them as-is. It's nice to know the original finish is good and deep. I thought I'd sanded it sufficiently for the stain to take, and the handle color looked nice and dark, but after allowing the handle to dry and buffing it with 0000 steel wool, I had this:
I then sanded the handle more deeply. I didn't go any deeeper than this because, while I wanted to remove the orangey-finished parts I did not want to alter the shape of the handle. You can see the original finish, plus the places the new stain actually soaked in(!). I intended to apply two more coats of Red Mahogany stain then finish up with Helmsman's Spar Urethane:
After the two coats of stain, buffed with 0000 steel wool, I had this:
At the store to purchase the Spar Urethane, I discovered three things:
1) The Spar Urethane didn't come in the small(est) can, and I didn't want to buy more than 8oz
2) The label on the Red Mahogany Stain sported a recommendation for the above urethane, but warned against using Polycrylic, leaving me with "regular" PolyUrethane
3) I spied the PolyShades on the shelf, stain plus PolyUrethane all in one. Ta da!
The PolyShades went on well enough that I'm confident it would have worked from the get-go, saving me many steps and frustration. The resulting finish is smooth and non-tacky. It feels a little more plastic-y than I would prefer, and I can see how/where I would apply the finish more consistently if I had a do-over, but I intend to simply Use the knife from here on out, and anticipate the finish breaking in well.
The handles on the stainless Opinels seem to have less of a coating, which I suppose I will confirm if and when I decide to PolyShade my No.8 Gardener's knife, seen above. I'm thinking of doing that one in a slightly lighter shade, perhaps American Chestnut or one of the Maples.
Hope this helps!
~~~~~~~
Toting today: Chestnut SBJ, Boker Small Congress (finishing up a Ball and Cage whittle project).
~ P.
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Great idea!
:thumbup:
