When doing an oil finish on a full tang knife, what do you do about pins & tang edge?

G

GrizzlyBear

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Dec 5, 2009
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The last couple of knives I've completed, I've used Tru Oil as a finish. Once dry, I go back with a sharp razor blade and peel off the tru oil on the flats of the ricasso, and along the edge of the tang. However, I can't get the pins without damaging the surrounding finish.

So, what do you guys do? I assume that this holds true for other oil finishes like tung, teak and the like as well as polyurethanes and spar varnishes.

Do you take something like 3M fineline tape and tape the tang edge? While this would work, it would also create a noticeable valley between the edges of the scales, on built up finishes like Tru Oil.
 
I haven't used Tru-Oil, I use Danish oil. I generally finish-sand the whole thing before oiling, then rub it all down with 0000 steel wool after each coat of oil. No biuld-up; each coat of oil soaks into the wood till it's sealed and won't take anymore. I have no experience with stuff like poly or varnish that actually sits on top of the wood.
 
Yeah, tru oil soaks in the first couple of coats, after that it's a building finish. I want to try danish oil on the next knife I do, see what kind of luck I have with it.
 
I've only used tung or danish oil myself, and as James says it soaks in with each coat. I never had a problem with too much build-up. I personally don't like the idea of a finish that sits on top of the material.
 
I don't let the Tung or Danish Oil build up on the tang or pins. After I let the oil soak in for a few minutes on the wood adjacent to the tang and pin area, I use a Q-tip very carefully to remove most of it from the tang. The 0000 steel wool finishes the job after the coat dries.
 
I hate Tru-Oil.

If you want a nice oil finish get some CCL stuff from Clive Lemon. It won't lay up and gives a much nicer finish. That old gunstock red is beautiful on scales too.

I use the Varathane Oil (satin) as the sealer; just apply and wipe the excess off until the wood won't take any more. Then do the finish. This makes it easy to repair, very durable and waterproof, and hard.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!!

I love the Tru Oil, I've just been having to teach myself the little tricks to use it properly. I first used it to refinish a maple muzzleloader stock on a St. Louis Hawken, and LOVED the finish. Just a shame it takes so long for it to properly cure!
 
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