Wooden Scales

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Howdy folks,

How do ya'll finish your wooden scales once they are completed? I have seen many of you do custom wood scales for your BK's and was just wondering how you finished them. Did you leave them plain? do you Oil them? did you seal them with something?

I am thinking of making a set for my BK2 and re-handleing some kitchen knives. Your guidance is very much appreciated.

-Tim
 
Making wood handle scales are on my list too. Any advice would be great.

Jeremy
 
Burls and spalted woods should not be used without professional stabilization.

Do any dying before sealing.

I use plenty of Danish oil. (lemon oil, mineral oil, tung oil, linseed oil etc etc all work too)

Finish the scales to the desired degree. Wet lightly with water and let dry to raise any fuzzies, then sand again (or better yet, scrape with a fine sharp blade). Repeat until fuzzies no longer arise, or until you get sick of doing it.

Rub down lightly with oil, let dry and scrub with 0000 steel wool or fine sandpaper. Alternately, wet sand with the same oil to help fill any open pores with a mixture of the wood's dust and the oil.

Repeat until the wood will no longer absorb oil, or until you get sick of doing it.

Burnish aggressively with denim or cotton.

Wax if desired.
 
For me, really depends on what type of wood I'm using, what type of environment I'm looking to use the wood on, what look I'm going for, what level of grippiness I'm looking for, and if there's particular qualities in the wood that will be best accentuated by different finishing techniques. What sort of wood are you thinking about using?
 
I used a light balsa (I think) with a nice grain pattern. Played a little bit the other day making scales for an old kitchen knife for some practice.

WP_000976_zpsb432835d.jpg



Thanks for the advice Mr. Terrio. I'm going to spend a few hours the next time my wife is working (and after the kids go to bed) with some oil and high grit paper.
 
I'll definitely use danish or tung (or sometimes walnut) oil as I'm sanding to final finish. Once you get to where you like it, you can also use paste wax or CA glue (superglue) (oh, and wear gloves) to seal it. I'll usually use a heat gun to saturate the wax through. You may use a combination of these finishes if you're using unstabilized wood that you want to resist moisture really well. I sometimes use a dedicated buffing wheel to help with the final polish as well if I'm taking it to really high grit.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
I'll definitely use danish or tung (or sometimes walnut) oil as I'm sanding to final finish. Once you get to where you like it, you can also use paste wax or CA glue (superglue) (oh, and wear gloves) to seal it. I'll usually use a heat gun to saturate the wax through. You may use a combination of these finishes if you're using unstabilized wood that you want to resist moisture really well. I sometimes use a dedicated buffing wheel to help with the final polish as well if I'm taking it to really high grit.
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I have some wax sealer that I use for my butcher block that should work. I'll definitely use the tips! I have a buffing wheel for my Dremel that I think would work pretty good. Thanks for the advice! I can't wait to get back into the garage!
 
I use plain old mineral oil on wood. Once the wood is sanded smooth I apply oil with finger tips let it sit for an hour. Apply some more let it sit for a while. Then rub it out with a piece of canvas. I have always been happy with the final product and can easily reapply more oil at any time as needed.
 
I hope you didn't use balsa, you can dent that stuff with your fingernail... it's the lightest and softest wood on the planet, even though it's technically a hardwood. If you did use balsa, you'll want to finish it with epoxy and fiberglass ;).
 
Mmmm I'm trying to remember the selection in the store. Its Bocote or Cocobola. I also picked up some Paduke. Seems like I need learn a little more about my wood (tee hee).
 
I have used Tung Oil to good effect on a new handle made with raw Oak scales. It would have been nicer if I had stained the Oak just a bit darker, but they look fine.



I am ready to shape my first set for the 9, some Bocote I picked up.
 
tanglediver said:
I have used Tung Oil to good effect on a new handle made with raw Oak scales. It would have been nicer if I had stained the Oak just a bit darker, but they look fine.



I am ready to shape my first set for the 9, some Bocote I picked up.
Click to expand...

That looks like a nicely recycled US Divers SeaHawk.
 
I've only done mycarta on my Beckers, but put some nice stabilized buckeye on the Trapper in my avatar.
I finished it with 3 coats of tung oil based on advice from various woodworking Beckerheads. Came out very nice and smooth, but (I think since they were stabilized first) they seem sorta "plasticky" for real wood. If I were to do it again, I'd probably put tung on a low-natural-oil unstabilized wood, but might just do mineral oil if they're already stabilized.
 
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