Wooden Handle Maintenance

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Namaste, everyone.

Since receiving my first two wooden handled khukuris during the past 2 weeks, what is the preferred method of ensuring that the handle is maintained well? Has anyone tried sealing the wood to prevent handle splitting? Storing the khukuris under controlled humidity conditions is not an option for me.

Next, if the handle should start splitting, what measures could be taken to stabilize the split so that no further splitting occurs? I think that any splits could be remedied by using wood putty or super glue mixed with sawdust tinted to match the color of the wood. The other thing would be to replace the handle as Uncle Bill has mentioned in earlier posts on this forum(and in the Khukuri FAQ.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Harry
 
Harry, up where you are I am not sure which is best. I use boiled linseed oil down here in Reno and it seems to work pretty good.

Cougar may drop by to give you some advice. I think he uses mineral oil which should be readily available on your shelf.

Let's hope your wood holds up okay.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Boiled linseed oil works for me, as well.
Good for wood handles on all outdoor tools (not just khukuris). Also good for unfinished outdoor furniture. I have used it with good results on the rocking chairs on my front porch.

--Mike L.


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Real men ride Moto Guzzis!
 
I use double boiled linseed oil on my wood handles and Enfield stocks as well.

Superglue does not work as well on wood as compared to horn. For cracked handles I mix Lepages epoxy (the version that comes out of a syringe) and force it into the crack with a syringe. Take the half hour stuff, you will need the longer working time. Once it is in the crack it is very durable and likely stronger than the wood itself. Make sure you allow enough time for the expoxy to fully cure. The wait will be worthwhile. If you use the clear stuff and close the handle with C clamps or hose clamps the crack will be difficult to see.

If I can work the epoxy in I use JB weld. This stuff is really tuff.

I am trying a wood epoxy called PC Woody but it has not been very successful.

Will
 
Will, what do you consider to be the best overall adhesive to use for repairing horn handles? Superglue? If so, the gel or the regular? Thanx for sharing your expertise.
 
Steven,

I like epoxies better than Superglue. I believe they stronger and much less prone to cracking with use. Cracks can be filled with epoxy. I sometimes smooth out the handle-bolster interface with JB weld. The epoxy is actually harder than the wood handle.

The nice thing about Superglue is that it flows easily and can penetrate into fine cracks. The rough surfaces inside a crack allow the adhesive to really bond. It is proabably strong enough on horn. The handles I have repaired with Superglue seem to hold fine.

I have not used the gel Superglue. The regular Superglue is not recommended for wood by the manufacturer.

Will
 
I love linseed oil for wood handles. The trouble with mineral oil is it doesn't dry out, and an oily handle is slippery. Linseed oil hardens into a finish. Use boiled linseed oil -- get the wood good and wet with it and keep it wet for a while, maybe half an hour, then wipe it off. Do it again the next day ... a few coats of modern "boiled" linseed oil will make wood waterproof and immune to changes in weather.

Raw linseed oil takes forever to dry. In the old days they used to literally boil it to try to accelerate the process a little, but the stuff sold as "boiled" linseed oil in hardware and paint stores nowadays hasn't literally been boiled; instead it's had chemicals added to it to make it dry faster. It doesn't dry by evaporation, by the way; it oxidizes and hardens.

An old recipe was to give it one coat a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year for the rest of your life. Fortunately there is no need for that with modern boiled linseed oil. Give it maybe half a dozen coats and you'll find it won't absorb any more. In a year or two, give it another coat or two. Then it should be good for ten or twenty years before it needs another one.

Make sure you wipe off all the oil before it dries. You want it to soak into the wood and dry there ... if you leave any excess that didn't soak in to dry it'll look pretty terrible, a gummy mess.

If you want a really beautiful finish, and I assume you do on a khukuri handle, rub it with a cloth after each coat. A lot of rubbing will polish it and bring out the natural beauty of the wood. If it's just an ax handle or a porch chair or something like that I only give it two coats and don't rub much, but something like a knife handle, I give it one coat every day for about a week and rub it a lot with a soft cloth and it comes out beautiful.

Some people add lemon oil to bring out the grain and/or beeswax to make it shinier, but after trying various mixtures I've settled on just plain boiled linseed oil. It's the most natural finish there is, the closest thing to unfinished wood, just the natural rich beauty of the wood with no added shininess....

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
Regular superglue isn't good for porous materials like wood and leather because it's so fluid it soaks in before it can harden and not enough is left in the joint. That's why the gel. Horn isn't porous so regular superglue should work well.

Superglue isn't as strong as epoxy, though, and it can't fill gaps at all. I think if you have a hairline crack in horn, barely visible, superglue would be good; it's fluid enough to penetrate a hairline crack that epoxy wouldn't penetrate (unless maybe you warmed the horn a little; that would help epoxy penetrate).

Quick-drying epoxy is not as strong as the slower-drying stuff and isn't as resistant to solvents -- it isn't even fully waterproof. I try to avoid using it ... there usually isn't really that much hurry ... cultivate patience....
smile.gif


-Cougar Allen :{)
 
:
Cougar is right on with the "boiled Linseed Oil" And Patience!
I bought one of those "Magical Finishes" at a G & K Show about 3 years ago.I still have most of the pint left,but I opened m and have used out of my second Quart of the linseed oil.
The Magical Finish looks,wonderful,but it builds up on the outside of the wood after a while and yeah,it makes for a "Showcase" gunstock or knife handle,But it Does Not have the beauty and depth of the Linseed Oil.

I do use both the superglues on the horn handles.
I have also used it on wood where I could use some of the fine sanding dust I took off the wood with it.I can fill a 1/32" crack with doing it that way and you will swear it is part of the wood grain!
I have to conceed to the experience of others on the use of the epoxies.I do use the JB Weld and I use a 30 minute epoxy for most other tasks.It is said to be a 2 ton strength.I have seen a place where I can buy the 2 hour epoxy now and I will go to that for the added strength.
Patience is the key to success in most any endeavor.
smile.gif




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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

If you mix milk of magnesia with vodka and orange juice do you get a phillips screwdriver?

Khukuri FAQ


 
Those magic gunstock finishes ... I hate them. They're intended to produce not too bad an imitation of a real oil finish in a couple of coats ... I can kind of understand why a factory would be tempted to use them to speed up production, but....

You guys wouldn't see that as labor-saving; you'd see that as losing a perfectly good excuse to fondle your khukuri -- "Really, Ma, I'm not fondling it; I'm rubbing in the linseed oil!" Maybe you'd better print out the directions to show your wives....
smile.gif


If you really want to do a *great* oil finish, after you've given it a bunch of coats as explained above, with a lot of rubbing with a soft cloth between coats, then you start putting a couple of drops of linseed oil on the palm of your hand and rub it in with your palm until the oil disappears.

I hardly ever use any other kind of wood finish. If it's something I don't care much about and don't want to put a lot of effort into, I just give it a couple of coats of oil. If it's something like the handle of my favorite knife or the grip of my favorite pistol, I ... well ... unlike varnish, you never have to stop ... too many coats of varnish would build up too thick, but you wipe off all the linseed oil that doesn't soak in, so....

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
Many thanks for all the good posts, guys.

Howard, I think this material needs to be added to the Khukuri FAQ, if not already there.

Harry
 
I use linseed oil for my Enfields and my 20" AK. The stuff I use was my grandfathers and must be about 30 yrs old.
 
Any comments on True Oil for a wood handle? I had good luck with it on gunstocks years ago while recovering from a motorcycle accident. Did my rifles & shotguns and some friends fathers or grandfathers "sentimental arms".

I don't know if True Oil would be classified as one of the "Magic Gunstock" compunds but it was good "therapy" for a younger guy that was layed up - all the fine sanding & coat after coat of True Oil sure taught patience.
 
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