wood scales advice

A

adimo

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Apr 13, 2015
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Hi guys, I just bought a Condor Hudson Bay knife. I checked it out around the house so far and it works really nice from chopping (obvious) to feather sticks. I am planning to take it out in the woods this weekend and probably will come back with some pictures to share.

I know what to do with the steel but I am not sure about the wooden scales. As of now they look kind of dry to me and I would do something to protect them. Last time I smeared a bit of mineral oil on them and it got sucked in in an instant. Would a simple spray-over with polyurethane do the trick (that I have at home, just finished a bow with it) or should I rather use boiled linseed oil?

Thanks!
 
If it's going to be a hard-use knife I'd sand it lightly then use several coats of a good polyurethane, sanding slightly between each coat. Allow each to dry thoroughly--at least a couple days, preferably a week. I wouldn't use a spray-on poly, I'd paint it on instead, but that' s just me. I have no experience with "spray-on." Either way, key is to use a good polyurethane and don't cheap it.

If it's going to be for light use or show then use linseed oil, Pledge, Old English, or lemon oil, in light coats, until it wont absorb any more. Beeswax may be OK, I've never used it, but don't apply it before the oils as it will hinder the absorption of the oil. It's probably OK for a topcoat though. I prefer a good wood wax in such situations as a final top coat---with touch up waxings now and then.

You didn't say what the handle was made of, but it it's birch, maple or similar hardwood, water absorption will be nil due to the properties of those woods. They are also very good at shrinkage resistance over long periods of time.
 
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I would let Linseed Oil soak in for a few days. Later apply a few layers of tung oil which becomes water resistant once it polymerizes and thus locks everything in. The linseed oil will polymerize too but not be water resistant. Also whatever soaks into the handle might take months to become solid due to less oxygen in there vs the outside of the handle.
 
Thank you guys for all the valuable advice and I apologize for being so late with my thanks. The thruth is that I bought this knife rather for display, for the mountain man looks and for the Hudson Bay Co. connection. There are some pieces of ash that I collected to test my knives in the basement and this thing totally impressed my how it chewed through them. No chipping, no rolling on the factory edge. And it can make feather sticks too! I think I'll end up using the kife instead of hanging it on the wall. So far I just oiled the handle, thin film, about three times, probabaly will appy plyurethane (thanks EChoil). As I said, I don't know much about about wood, Condor says it's walnut. I just hope the scales are glued to the steel properly and there will be rust underneath. Cheers!
 
Good luck with it, adimo.

If you polyurethane it, remember some polyu's are also a stain. If you like the color and look of the wood as it, use a clear poly. If you want to punch it up a little, pick a stain you like. Main thing is to sand it lightly first and between every coat. Apply it in thin coats. The more coats the deeper the finish will become--you'll see as you do it. Walnut can have some beautiful graining when poly is applied.

Reason I recommend brushing it on is so that you can adequately seal the joint between wood and metal as well. Also, it's easier to control the nuances of the application depending on how you want the knife to look. And you can always go back, even years later, and sand it a bit and apply another coat....until you have the look you want.
 
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