Wood Treatment

Liveitloud

Liveitloud

Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Messages
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I have a fixed blade that I was wondering what I could put on the wood handle to treat it. I can wipe it down with mineral oil and let it set for a day or so. But, when I return it to the sheath in a day or so the sheath/leather has pulled all the moisture out of the handle. It looks faded and dry and follows the line of the sheath and I want to be able to care for the wood properly.

I thought about putting some tung oil on it but was afraid to do it if that wasn't the best product to use. Just looking for some advice from the experts before I did anything.
 
Im not an expert but try linseed oil or tung oil, then after that soaks in, some wax to cover and polish it. If you are ambitious you can do a CA glue finish.
 
Howards Feed & Wax is pretty good stuff. Put it on, let it set a couple hours and wipe off. If you wood handle is very dry it may take 2 or 3 successive treatments. Also, probably not a good idea storing the knife in a leather sheath.
 
Super glue is CyanoAcrylate. Give a nice, hard finish. Pretty easy to do. Sand to 400, apply a coat of CA and brush it smooth. Let it dry and sand at 600 grit. Repeat and buff after the second coat. Very shiny, very hard. Eyeglass wipes seem to work great as a brush. Don't pour the glue on the wood, it will leave streaks. Brush it on with a q-tip or wipe.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to try the Howard Feed-N-Wax. I was able to do a product search and land some a block down the street at Elliott's Hardware. We'll see how it does. I will probably also be more mindful of not having the knife sheathed when not in use.
 
If I am using wood that is not stabalized or on a knife already made, I use minwax wood hardner you can get it at all hardware stores that sell minwax products. I will coat the handle with a dobber and let it set a while and coat it again. Sometimes I may use three or four coats but when it dries it can be sanded and polished and seal the wood very well. The drier the wood the better.
Percy
 
If you do want to store your knife in the sheath, give the blade a thin coat of light oil (I like mineral oil) then wrap it in saran wrap first.
 
Waterlox Transparent Tung oil finish is, in my opinion,
the best finish for a beginning wood finisher. It's pretty
much goof-proof and puts on a nice finish that's easily
repaired if it gets dinged up.

Warm the wood.
Rub in 3-4 coats, drying and lightly sanding between coats,
and when satisfied and the finish has dried, give it a coat of
hard wax and buff.

My Jr High shop teacher taught me to use this stuff and it
has worked ever since for me when I want a good, relatively
fast, dependable and durable finish.

I've used Waterlox for about 50 years:eek:, and I've never
been disappointed. Finestkind:thumbup:

Bill
 
What type of wood is it? Some tropical woods won't take an oil finish.

I use TruOil mainly.

- LonePine
Alias Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
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