Wood Finish

colu41

colu41

Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Messages
1,598
So I've finished my 2nd knife today. Hope to post pics tomorrow. I've been toying around with some stains and I bought a tin of High Gloss Tung oil. I like how it finishes the wood, just slightly darkening but brings out a lot of detail in the grain, but I am curious as to how I can get a slightly glossier finish? I don't want to go as far as polyerethane. Do I just need to put dozens of coats of this oil to get that "glossy" finish? Or am I going to need some sort of wax?
 
I make a homemade wax with beeswax and turpentine that puts a gloss on it real nice, try that and see if you like it. Just melt the wax and eyeball the turp...I don't exactly have ratios or anything:),
 
I know you said you don't want it, but I use this clear minwax polyurethane stuff, after I polish up to 1000 grit, and I make slabs from old scrap dressers look like glass with it, if you have enough grain to bring out the reflectiveness of the finish adds a lot to it in an almost trippy way.
 
Nic. said:
I make a homemade wax with beeswax and turpentine that puts a gloss on it real nice, try that and see if you like it. Just melt the wax and eyeball the turp...I don't exactly have ratios or anything:),
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Gendry said:
I know you said you don't want it, but I use this clear minwax polyurethane stuff, after I polish up to 1000 grit, and I make slabs from old scrap dressers look like glass with it, if you have enough grain to bring out the reflectiveness of the finish adds a lot to it in an almost trippy way.
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Thanks. And yeah I don't know if I want that glass look to it. And polyurethane will definitely do it. I'm looking for more of a smooth satin gloss. Where as the tung oil just isn't quite enough. I suppose I can mess with a few different things I just don't want to spend a load of money on a bunch of different finishing oils, waxes, etc, and only like one lol.
 
Ah, yeah if you don't want the glass look, I wouldn't suggest the mini wax then.

knife.jpg

Here is a handle I put on an old file knife yesterday, next to the chunk of dresser drawer the scales came from. It took about a dozen photo's at different angles, but you can see how the gloss really intensifies the grain.

(Never put pin's in a knife before... Shut up..)
 
Interesting. Thanks for the pic. Maybe I'll pick up a small can of it and just try it out....I say I dont want it but, you never know until you try it on your work :)
 
The more coats of the high gloss tung oil you apply the glossier it'll get but it shouldn't take more than five or six coats. If you decide you want a satin look instead of high gloss, gently rub the high gloss tung oil finish down with 0000 steel wool then apply several coats of wax like a paste floor wax or Renaisance Wax.
 
Woodwrkr221 took the words right outa my mouth. Get that full gloss look with your tung oil (tru oil), and then hit it with 0000 steel wool for a more stain look. Finish with wax. Perfect! (Edit....what the heck is a stain look? We don't want that!!!! SATIN is what I meant to type. Can't blame this one on autocorrect either!)
 
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You gotta let the Tung Oil dry,longer is better.Cold temps don't help.Also there is a semi gloss poly in the min wax.
 
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Thanks everyone. I keep the house a bit colder than most. Around 67-68 degrees. And being 0 degrees on the average day here it probably doesnt help it. I was doing tung oil coats maybe 20 minutes apart. I should probably wait a little longer. But I did pick up a "Wipe On Poly" gloss. Seems really thin, not like a normal polyurethane so, maybe that will give it just a little more shine.
 
With Tung oil - try several hours apart on coats, perhaps a coat a day? Tru-Oil works pretty good with only 3 or 4 hrs between coats.
 
I just did my first one with tru oil. It works well but takes a while. I went a couple hours between coats and a couple days before buffing. Worked pretty good.
 
I usually let tung oil dry about 12 hrs between coats at around 70 deg (in the house).7-8 coats gives a nice glossy finish. looks great on highly figured woods.
 
This is my opinion only- Wood stains and finishes are for furniture, not knives. Knife handles should be made of woods that don't require applied finishes or stains. The frequent handling of knives will wear away any applied finish.
 
Have you considered using an oil/varnish blend? It's a mixture of 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 polyurethane, and 1/3 mineral spirits. The oil gives a nice color to the wood and "pops" any grain figure without having to use a stain. It has just enough poly to give a nice satin sheen and some protection without building a film finish. Two light coats of that with a paper towel, (a day to dry in between), a light coat of wax on the 3rd day, and buff it with a white scotchbrite pad. It will look beautiful!

Try it out on a scrap of wood and see what you think.
 
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I bought some danish oil today to try on some Alder I used for scales on a test knife I made. I also bought a satin finish for it. I know nothing about finishing wood.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
This is my opinion only- Wood stains and finishes are for furniture, not knives. Knife handles should be made of woods that don't require applied finishes or stains. The frequent handling of knives will wear away any applied finish.
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This has its merits, but I'm not convinced by that. By finish do you mean stain and varnish? Or any sort of finish? Tru-Oil and gun stock wax comes to mind. There are MANY, MANY, MANY firearms out there with wood stocks and grips. It does hold true though that everything you apply will eventually wear.

The more care in application, the longer it will last.

I would agree that polyurethane isn't a great choice for a handle.
 
Lo/Rez said:
I bought some danish oil today to try on some Alder I used for scales on a test knife I made. I also bought a satin finish for it. I know nothing about finishing wood.
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Danish oil is a blend of oil and varnish like Russ mentioned. Formbys Tung Oil and Minwax Tung Oil are also blends of basically the same oils and varnishes but Danish Oil has a higher percentage of oil and won't build up very much, it mostly gets used for a natural no-finish style of finish. Formbys Tung oil has a higher percentage of varnish and will build up quicker than Danish oil or Minwax. Minwax is somewhere in between.

I'm not sure whats in Tru-oil but I've used it a couple or three times and it works great though it's pretty thick as it comes out of the bottle.
 
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