i finished a knife with a walnut handle. i searched the forum for different finishes and there were so many combinations df oils and finishes it has left me in a quandry. i would like a deep shiny finish. i was thinking mabey linseed oil then a few thin coats of tung oil with a coating of paste wax last. will this work or am i way off? ive used linseed oil with the wax which turned out nice but left the grains of th wood "open" i was hoping the tung oil would fix that. what do you think? thanks willy.
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wood handle finish
- Thread starter willy m
- Start date
Try using a wood filler first. You can get it any hardware or wood store next to wherever wood finishes are sold. The very purpose of wood filler is to do exactly what you want, fill in the grain so that your finish on more porous woods is filled in hence, smooth. Teak, tung, linseed oils are all fine and, as you mentioned, paste wax wouldn't be a bad idea, or even buffed carnauba wax. I've not tried it yet, but many of the makers here use cyanoacrylate(super glue) and build it up to a thickness which can then be buffed to a shine.
if i used the wood filler then what do i do after to finish the handle? im not exactly sure how to go about a super glue finish. the wood on this handle is verry pretty and i dont want to chance messing it up. how much super glue do you need for a handle on a 4 inch blade?
I've never personally done the super glue finish, perhaps someone else will chime in regarding that. Wood filler doesn't interfere with the look of the wood's figure, it just fills in the porous surface so that your piece becomes smooth, then your choice of finish can be applied and buffed to a nice smooth luster or shine.
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- Jan 28, 2008
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It might be worth your time to read Bruce Bump's posts about a CA/superglue finish. I found post #39 in this thread really helpful and you can see the results on the following page.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=659442&page=2
As far as finding something other than CA/superglue to fill the grain:
If you buy something just labelled wood filler you will most likely get a colored putty. The products that I think mlewright is referring to will usually be labelled grain or pore filler and a finishing product will have to applied over them. Most of those products do work well but several thin coats of a 50/50 boiled linseed oil/shellac mix will work too. If you go with the linseed oil and shellac mix you'll be filling in the grain just a little with each coat. It dries relatively quickly and you can do your "sanding" between coats with #OOOO steel wool. Wax can be applied after the final coat.
You will find the CA finish to be more resistant to moisture damage than the linseed oil/shellac finish but both methods can produce really nice results.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=659442&page=2
As far as finding something other than CA/superglue to fill the grain:
If you buy something just labelled wood filler you will most likely get a colored putty. The products that I think mlewright is referring to will usually be labelled grain or pore filler and a finishing product will have to applied over them. Most of those products do work well but several thin coats of a 50/50 boiled linseed oil/shellac mix will work too. If you go with the linseed oil and shellac mix you'll be filling in the grain just a little with each coat. It dries relatively quickly and you can do your "sanding" between coats with #OOOO steel wool. Wax can be applied after the final coat.
You will find the CA finish to be more resistant to moisture damage than the linseed oil/shellac finish but both methods can produce really nice results.
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- Dec 7, 2008
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- 7,187
Debonder is what you use to get loose when you glue your fingers to the knife.
Best way to finish walnut is with True oil and wet sand between coats. Keep repeating till you like how it looks. This is what they do for high end gun stocks.
Best way to finish walnut is with True oil and wet sand between coats. Keep repeating till you like how it looks. This is what they do for high end gun stocks.
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- Jan 2, 2006
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- 564
Willie,
Debonder releases a superglued joint, like when you stick your fingers
together.
Wood filler. Make sure you get quartz based wood filler. Don't use regular old
"fill up the hole" stuff. You can get what you need from Woodcraft Supply as well
as many other suppliers.
I use 3-5 coats of Waterlox tung oil for finish on woods like walnut. It really
fires up the grain.
Bill
Debonder releases a superglued joint, like when you stick your fingers
together.
Wood filler. Make sure you get quartz based wood filler. Don't use regular old
"fill up the hole" stuff. You can get what you need from Woodcraft Supply as well
as many other suppliers.
I use 3-5 coats of Waterlox tung oil for finish on woods like walnut. It really
fires up the grain.
Bill
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- Jan 28, 2008
- Messages
- 3,223
I forgot about Tru Oil. I echo what Burl Source said about it being a good walnut finish.
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- Dec 4, 2009
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- 475
Birchwood Casey is the manufacturer of Tru-Oil. You should be able to get it in any gun/sports shop or off the Internet.
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html
It is both a wood filler and a finish. I've done some rifle stocks that came out really nice with it.
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- Jun 9, 2006
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- 141
My local WalMart carries Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil...
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- Dec 25, 2009
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- 409
I actually used plain old polyurethane finish on my hunting and woodsman knives. Its safer than super glue and much easier to use. Here are some before and after pics of a knife handle I did. (I think it was walnut) You can see how it can bring out the colors in the wood. It also fills in the wood nicely. I apply up to 10 thin coats on some, making sure it doesn't run, then buff it smooth with a thin cotton towel and raw sheeps wool. I like to do things by hand, but a power tool with a sheep wool buffing pad would work I believe.
Use Tru-oil. It's worked for gun stocks for decades. The finish is also very easy to touch up. Tru-oil is a tung oil base, with additives to speed drying time.
Sand the wood to 400 grit. Then, take a damp (not soaking) towel and wipe the surface of the wood, and allow to dry. When you sand, some wood fibers are just pushed over, not cut. When the damp wood dries, those fibers will stand up. It's referred to as "raising the grain."
With the first coat of Tru-oil, you'll want to apply it with 0000 steel wool, or wet-dry sandpaper. You don't want to soak the wood with the oil. Just put a few drops on the surface, then sand lightly with the steel wool or sandpaper to spread it around. As you sand, you spread the oil around the surface of the wood, and also sand all the fibers that you just raised. You'll effectively create a slurry of fine sawdust and oil. As you sand, you'll be shoving that slurry into any open pores in the wood, thus filling the grain.
Once you have a light coat over all the wood (you don't want any runs), then hang the knife to dry for 24 hours.
On the next coat, card the first coat with 0000 steel wool, dry. This abrades the surface of the Tru-oil so that the next coat will adhere. You can apply the next, and subsequent coats, by hand, rubbing the wood hard so that you can feel the friction in your palm.
Card with steel wool, apply a thin coat of Tru-oil, hang to dry for a day, and repeat.
With 2-3 coats you will acheive a satin finish. Ten coats or more and you'll start to get a high gloss. Some high end shotguns could have 30 or more coats.
Once you have put on several layers of oil you can also finish with a paste wax, but that may not be necessary if you've acheived the look you want with just the Tru-oil.
If the handle ever gets nicks, scratches, etc., just touch it up with a little Tru-oil and let it dry.
A bottle of Tru-oil will cost under $5. If you only ever use it for knife handles, one bottle will last a long, long time. If you use it infrequently, place a piece of plastic wrap over the bottle opening before putting on the cap, otherwise the oil will dry out.
Sand the wood to 400 grit. Then, take a damp (not soaking) towel and wipe the surface of the wood, and allow to dry. When you sand, some wood fibers are just pushed over, not cut. When the damp wood dries, those fibers will stand up. It's referred to as "raising the grain."
With the first coat of Tru-oil, you'll want to apply it with 0000 steel wool, or wet-dry sandpaper. You don't want to soak the wood with the oil. Just put a few drops on the surface, then sand lightly with the steel wool or sandpaper to spread it around. As you sand, you spread the oil around the surface of the wood, and also sand all the fibers that you just raised. You'll effectively create a slurry of fine sawdust and oil. As you sand, you'll be shoving that slurry into any open pores in the wood, thus filling the grain.
Once you have a light coat over all the wood (you don't want any runs), then hang the knife to dry for 24 hours.
On the next coat, card the first coat with 0000 steel wool, dry. This abrades the surface of the Tru-oil so that the next coat will adhere. You can apply the next, and subsequent coats, by hand, rubbing the wood hard so that you can feel the friction in your palm.
Card with steel wool, apply a thin coat of Tru-oil, hang to dry for a day, and repeat.
With 2-3 coats you will acheive a satin finish. Ten coats or more and you'll start to get a high gloss. Some high end shotguns could have 30 or more coats.
Once you have put on several layers of oil you can also finish with a paste wax, but that may not be necessary if you've acheived the look you want with just the Tru-oil.
If the handle ever gets nicks, scratches, etc., just touch it up with a little Tru-oil and let it dry.
A bottle of Tru-oil will cost under $5. If you only ever use it for knife handles, one bottle will last a long, long time. If you use it infrequently, place a piece of plastic wrap over the bottle opening before putting on the cap, otherwise the oil will dry out.
Really great info guys! I just got 2 sets of Ironwood burl scales in the mail yesterday, (One was a freebie throw in) andthe free one had a bad spot running through it in the middle. So I used bruce bump's technique (thin supperglue) and soaked down the soft spot until it was saturated. I had taped off the backside with waxpaper so I would be able to tell when it started coming through. It smoked just a bit when I first put the superglue on the spot, which kind of made me jump back a bit. Was warm to the touch but didn't actually flame up or anything. Anyway, it has hardened up quite a bit and I am going to add more later to bring it up to level.