Wooden Handle Maintenance

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Then a little rottenstone on the palm of your hand for that beautiful London "Best" quality Purdy/H&H eggshell finish...

Speaking of Enfields: a couple years back the Rifleman had an article on restoring linseed/cosmolene oversoaked stocks by mixing and applying a paste of an absorbant powder and sticking the wood pieces out in the hot summer sun and letting the dried out paste draw the oil. Repeat til done. Anyone remember what the solution was? Back them I didn't have my No 4 Enfields or cosmolined SKS's to eventually take out of storage.

I have seen Korean reimport stocks ( M1 carbine ) eaten up into wooden sieves by using spray foam oven cleaner. People who'd desecrate a piece of history like that ought to be tied to a stake piled high around with the stocks they've destroyed then set on fire. Fortunately this was pre-ban and a couple folding Choate stocks did the job of replacing the ruined wood.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 11 December 1999).]
 
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Rusty I may have that story around here somewheres.I recall seeing it,but don't know if I kept it.I will take a look around all the places I keep things,if I find it I will post it for everyone.
If I didn't keep it I sure meant too.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

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

Khukuri FAQ


 
I think Tru oil is partly boiled linseed oil according to the bottle.

Linseed oil usually polymerizes give a protective finish. I'm a bit surprised you can overdo it with linseed oil without adding heat. A gunsmith with military experience (we still issue Lee Enfields) said that most of the oil damage is from troops using whatever they had on the wood.

Currently, I am trying tong oil on some canes. The finish is not as glossy or hard as linseed oil. Any thoughts?

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 11 December 1999).]
 
Will, this may interest you though the only knife content involves mounting a bayonet, but one gunzine says that Gibbs Rifle ( I believe now a US subsidiary of Navy Arms ) is doing sporterized Enfield No. 4's in 45-70 with what sure looked like a synthetic stock. Given the new specialty loadings for the Marlin lever action ( 400 gr. at 2,000 fps or 530 gr. at 1,500+ fps ) and guessing the SMLE's strength ought to be about equal to the lever gun, it might be very interesting especially to you canadians - and probably fairly affordable. And if that doesn't stop your moose or grizzly, you've still got a 17" bladed bayonet.

Sorry for the digression, but a decent gun under $120 like SMLE's and SKS's and 4" .38 revolvers used to go for when I got mine are like the larger village khuks. One for the house, one for the car, one for the truck... just to be prudent.

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Somewhere, a village is being deprived of an idiot.


 
I know I've seen posts on rec.guns about drawing cosmoline with some kind of powder, but I don't remember what it was. It's very likely in the rec.guns FAQs at www.recguns.com

The most recommended method is brake cleaner.

If there were too much linseed oil on it, it would have hardened ... or if you caught it before it hardened, you could just wipe it off with paper towels or rags. It's cosmoline that those old guns are drenched in.

I don't know about this "True Oil" specifically; all I can tell you is I like just plain boiled linseed oil better than any of the commercial products. YMMV.

I don't like tung oil as well, either, or any of the commercial products that contain tung oil. Again, YMMV.

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
I think that the powder you are referring to used to be called Whiteing. (or at least that's how the guy that gave me some told me it was spelled.... I try not to argue too much.)

I went out today to see what it's official name was, and none of the employees at the Depot, knew what I was babbling about. Although one said that it sounded like TSP.


HTH

Jim in Louisville

BTW, please don't use the oven cleaner, it makes me very sad to see/hear of un-replaceable history being destroyed.
 
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