Wood Waxes Revisited?

[Horsewright]

Thanks guys, It really does go on nice. And with the amount that comes in the tub... I think it will last me a decade.

Heck it lasts me a long time. Good deal.

Mate they are beautiful handles, especially the top two. They are probably the nicest handles i have seen. Well done, you do fantastic work.

Wow Thank you sir! Got a little time, click on the Instagram link in my signature line. Lots of pics and you don't have to be a member and can look at the pics on a computer not a phone.

 

[cudgee]

Heck it lasts me a long time. Good deal.



Wow Thank you sir! Got a little time, click on the Instagram link in my signature line. Lots of pics and you don't have to be a member and can look at the pics on a computer not a phone.

Fantastic array of pics. The rattler hanging over the fence is a bit scary, when i was a kid growing up, you would always see snakes that had been killed by farmers hanging over fences as you drove around. But it is now illegal to kill snakes, so you do not see that anymore, but bought back memories. I have a passion for anything made of leather, wood and steel e.g.-knives. In this day and age of imports and throw away goods, it is great to see you keeping the tradition going, your work is exemplary. But over here in Australia there is a shift back to people wanting and preparing to pay for bespoke items, hope this is a trend over there as well, because i want to see craftsman such as yourself flourish and prosper. People do not realize that once these crafts and skills are gone, they are gone forever. Keep up the good work and posts coming, i really enjoy them.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

I've been pretty lucky but I always wear long sleeves when working coco, a hat, respirator, goggles and gloves and then shower shortly thereafter. They say its not if but when with this stuff and so far......course I'm sitting here getting all itchy thinking about it. But man what a great knife handle. Its just cool:

And sells!

it’s a beautiful wood like your pics show! I sold cheap & gave away a lot that you’d be hard pressed to buy now in our country because of restrictions now on imports etc.. A kept long sleeves on , Respirator etc, at first I was itchy then a gal at the dog park of a group of us that would hang after work for our happy hour while the dogs played, that’s in the medical field, said, looking at me and hearing me breathe just sitting next to her said, wow. You have strong allergies .. LOL, about a week later my chest started tightening up and felt like I was getting heart beat issues. LOL , I stopped using Cocobolo .. Payed two guys to clean out the shop and took a month off! Everyone’s different, your body will tell you that it’s time? I’m getting a little itchy just writing this! Stay safe & have Fun!

 

[Horsewright]

Fantastic array of pics. The rattler hanging over the fence is a bit scary, when i was a kid growing up, you would always see snakes that had been killed by farmers hanging over fences as you drove around. But it is now illegal to kill snakes, so you do not see that anymore, but bought back memories. I have a passion for anything made of leather, wood and steel e.g.-knives. In this day and age of imports and throw away goods, it is great to see you keeping the tradition going, your work is exemplary. But over here in Australia there is a shift back to people wanting and preparing to pay for bespoke items, hope this is a trend over there as well, because i want to see craftsman such as yourself flourish and prosper. People do not realize that once these crafts and skills are gone, they are gone forever. Keep up the good work and posts coming, i really enjoy them.

Thanks! Yeah if you read the comments on that snake pic there is a gal from Australia that wanted me to relocate the snake and then thought it was terrible that we put it over the fence. She thought it was a trophy pic. I explained to her it wasn't a trophy pic, it was old folklore to hang it over a fence, that it was suppose to keep other snakes away. Not sure she got it, I think she just wanted to cuddle with it. She is welcome to fly over, gather and cuddle with as many rattlesnakes she ould like as long as she "relocates" them and her snakebit self back to her place. In our world of cowboying there has been a renaissance of handmade goods going on for many years. Check here: https://tcowboyarts.org/ This organization is dedicated to elevating these arts. Think ABS Master Smiths only way more exclusive. When I was a kid much of this almost died away. But it was still out there and came back strong. Dale Harwood, the dean of custom saddle makers, stopped taking orders when he was in his seventies. He had a 20 year backlog at that time. Its kinda a conundrum if ya think about it because many working cowboys don't make that much money. Yet they are willing to spend it and make it happen for quality gear. Thanks again, I will:

It is cool to go into a branding pen and see that almost everything leather, except boots and saddles, you made and that every knife and sheath used and that ya see, ya made too:

it’s a beautiful wood like your pics show! I sold cheap & gave away a lot that you’d be hard pressed to buy now in our country because of restrictions now on imports etc.. A kept long sleeves on , Respirator etc, at first I was itchy then a gal at the dog park of a group of us that would hang after work for our happy hour while the dogs played, that’s in the medical field, said, looking at me and hearing me breathe just sitting next to her said, wow. You have strong allergies .. LOL, about a week later my chest started tightening up and felt like I was getting heart beat issues. LOL , I stopped using Cocobolo .. Payed two guys to clean out the shop and took a month off! Everyone’s different, your body will tell you that it’s time? I’m getting a little itchy just writing this! Stay safe & have Fun!

Yeah I went to order some more cocobolo the other day and my choices were very limited. Glad ya got er figured though on the allergy.

 

[Eeey_Yo_Mikey]

Is the mothers carnauba wax safe to the end user? Men this in regards to kitchen knives, or hunting knives that will be around food/ingestion. Safety sheets provided some warning info, but that seemed to be in regards to the product ingested straight from the bottle.

Thanks!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Waxes applied to a knife handle are not a worry. The volatile ingredients are long gone, and the actual waxes are pretty innocuous.
I would be far more worried about what your hands would put on the meat in field dressing an animal.

That said, you don't use car wax to wax a cutting board,

 

[Eeey_Yo_Mikey]

Waxes applied to a knife handle are not a worry. The volatile ingredients are long gone, and the actual waxes are pretty innocuous.
I would be far more worried about what your hands would put on the meat in field dressing an animal.

That said, you don't use car wax to wax a cutting board,

Thanks Stacy! Much appreciated, I think I might try some of the Odies products and see how those work too.

 

[Skiller1nc]

I know you said you arent buffing and if there is a reason okay. But buffing made a huge difference for me, I was sanding to 2500 grit or more and getting decent results but now I can sand to 1000 grit and buff in less time and the handle looks objectively better. I also use johnsons paste wax and mothers carnauba and I prefer the mothers

 

[mobenzowner]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Renaissance wax. It used to get all the PR...

 

[cudgee]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Renaissance wax. It used to get all the PR...

Still gets used here.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

A lot of us used Renaissance Wax, but it has fallen out of favor lately. It really is more of a silicone oil and micro-waxes. According to the MSDS, it is 80% "White Spirits" ( mineral spirits) and an unspecified amount of microcrystalline waxes (saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, ie.- long chain paraffin waxes).
The smell and taste don't go away, which is the biggest issue on user knives. While contact toxicity is low, it is listed as fatal if swallowed or fumes breathed. The stated purpose is listed as a surface preservative on metals in storage. I am sure it is not intended for or approved for using on any food preparation knife or surface.
It is great for those who store collections of knives in cabinets and drawers, or store them between shows in an area with high humidity. I use it that way now. When I get the knives out for a show, I clean them well with alcohol and use a light wax to prepare them for the tables. IIRC, Brix Wax is what I use lately.

 

[Alex Topfer]

Is the mothers carnauba wax safe to the end user? Men this in regards to kitchen knives, or hunting knives that will be around food/ingestion. Safety sheets provided some warning info, but that seemed to be in regards to the product ingested straight from the bottle.

Thanks!

If you're really worried you can get food grade carnauba and bees wax to mix up your own. I've used food grade linseed oil as a thinner, i had it around, there may be other things you could use. You could try mineral spirits; as Stacy said the spirits will evaporate quickly

 

[Horsewright]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Renaissance wax. It used to get all the PR...

Think about the job of each. Renny wax is for protecting old stuff in a museum that may only very occasionally be touched by a curator or researcher wearing white gloves. I mean literally, think about that, stuff kept behind glass if displayed at all. Now, what does the wax on your car go through? Pretty sure your car isn't kept behind glass and only touched with white gloves by a curator. My pick em up truck sure as heck ain't treated that way. Mother's is made to be out in the weather, to be touched and still protect and it does. I use to use Renny wax many years ago, it simply does not work as well for my purposes as the Mothers, wasn't even close to close. Yeah ya probably shouldn't eat it straight out of the can but a little bit on a knife blade whether kitchen or hunter sure as heck ain't gonna hurt you or the critter if ya only doing surgery. I can vouch for that. The wife doing surgery on some calves:

Guess what they all lived!

 

[Wyo Coyote]

I like this stuff. On oily wood, such as iron wood, I heat the first layer with a heat gun and rub it into the wood. Next coat gets a light buffing. Nice satin sheen.

Alfie Shine

 

[Fixall]

This thread popped up at the perfect time. I was literally just getting ready to purchase some Ren wax after seeing some positive reviews on it. Looks like I'll have to read through this thread some more and do a little research.

I typically use Johnson's Paste Wax for my outdoor knives and Camellia/Tsubaki oil on the handles of my kitchen knives (as well as the blades). I've been giving some thought to switching to Frog Lube CLP for my blades as well.