Woodchuckery on YCS?

ferguson

ferguson

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Feb 21, 2001
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Good evening folks. I've been doing some handle refinishing on my wood handled Khuks per the recommendations I've seen here. Clean, light sanding starting with 220 up to 1000, then TruOil. (8 coats so far) Wow they look great.:) My question is this. With the inlays, will I be safe to do the same with my Yvsa Cherokee Special? I would hate to mess up this wonderful work of art, but it would benefit from the same treatment I've given my other knives. Has anyone done this? Yvsa? Walosi?

Thanks guys, and have a great weekend.

Steve Ferguson
 
Originally posted by ferguson
My question is this. With the inlays, will I be safe to do the same with my Yvsa Cherokee Special? I would hate to mess up this wonderful work of art, but it would benefit from the same treatment I've given my other knives. Has anyone done this? Yvsa? Walosi?

Thanks guys, and have a great weekend.

Steve Ferguson
Click to expand...

Steve I would say go for it. I don't believe the Birchwood Casey's will hurt the bone and horn, might actually be good for them as well sealing them from the elements.
Walosi can probably tell you better as he's more experienced than me at that.

I know the super glue finish wouldn't hurt them a bit so you may wanna consider that route.
Just be aware of when you start a super glue finish you will think you've ruined your project. It has to be sanded almost smooth between coats to build up a nice layer.
When you get about 7 or 8 coats on it sand it completely smooth with finer and finer degrees of paper and finish with rottenstone and oil to see a mirror polish!!!!:)

A neat trick to sanding grooves is to get some valve grinding compound at your local auto parts store and using the fine grit coat a string with it, doesn't take much.
Then simply pull the string back and forth around the
groove.:)
The coarse grit will cut right through something if your not careful and is generally to coarse for what we would use it for.
There's finer grits to be had if you want to search, same thing you would put on a strop. The same compounds used for buffing can be used by pulling a string back and forth across the compound several times, use it the same way.
 
The inlays on mine were dulled a bit by the sanding and steel wool, but a little red jewelers's rouge on a rag, and hard thumb pressure, brought them right back. I cleaned it out around the edges of the inlay with a little Tru Oil on a Q Tip, and then started oiling, and stayed away from them with the final sandings.
 
Steve,

I'm in the middle of doing the same thing right now. The BC Tru-Oil hasn't done anything to the inlays yet. ... although I haven't steel wooled my first coat yet (tomorrow night). I might have to do the jewelers rouge that Wal suggested. ... hope not though.

Good luck on yours!

Alan
 
Does the Murphy Oil really safely reomve the varnish on the carved HI Khuks? Does the wood swell?
 
I removed the varnish from mine with steel wool, Tru Oil, a toothbrush and rags. THEN I discovered the bottle of Murphy's under the sink :) It might take a couple of tries, and after the first you may find softened varnish still in grooves, or where it was applied more heavily. Two should get most of it, though. I have never noticed any swelling in the areas (carved or otherwise) I've soaped. The concentrate is all vegetable oils, and it will soften the wood, until it has dried, so any routing out of crevices or hard brushing of finer points should be avoided. I knocked a square off the checkering on a Chitlangi. It is sorta like chicken soup for wood - it shouldn't hoit :rolleyes:
 
I blot the suds off with a paper towel, clean out the carving with round toothpicks, and Q-Tips, and just let it dry. The oils that are absorbed into the wood (and the carved stuff is pretty porus) don't effect the Tru Oil, and are beneficial. You will find out whether more than one round of soaping is necessary when you see how much caked rouge, etc., can be dug out of the carving after the first soaping. Some of the carving is a lot deeper than it appears, due to the cake.

BTW - The cuts can also be burnished (along the sides of vines, leaves, etc.) while the wood is stil damp from the soap. This will allow the oil to set wi a sheen in those deeper cuts, and makes a nice contrast.
 
Should you use or not use water to remove the Morphy Oil soap?

And should I take any special precuations about getting the Murphy on the Nickel silver, silver, steel or brass?
 
The Murphy concoction is all vegetable oil. The directions call for cutting it with water, for cleaning cabinets and woodwork, but for our uses on handles, scabbard carvings, etc., I use the full strength stuff, undiluted, and blot/wipe it dry, and allow the damp wood to dry. Whatis absorbed by the wood is good for the wood, and what you wipe off is rouge and old finish.

I do take care not to let it run under the silver straps on a carved scabbard (block the area you're scrubbing with a rag, etc.). While it won't harm the wood underneath, it will carry the sludge you're trying to remove, and wind up looking like stuff swept under the rug. I've seen no evidence that it causes brass or silver to corrode or tarnish, but I've cleaned and waxed the adjacent metals anyway, as the brass and silver tarnish at their own rate, and the steel needs rust protection.

The amount of oil soap you can get on a toothbrush, drawing it out of the neck of the bottle, is pretty small to begin with, but sufficient for quite a bit of cleaning - it is a concentrate, in the "original formula". Makes it easy to control.
 
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