Wooden Knife Handles

[Rifleman1776]

I have seen knife handles finished with everything under the sun. For wood, plain mineral oil works just fine. BLO is very good and preferred by many. I would suggest the wood be stabilized before you make the handles. Then they would need no finishing ever.

[son_of_bluegras]

The stabilized wood is wood that has been impregnated with some resin. That makes it impervious to most solvents and may harden the wood to some degree. It works somewhere between wood and plastic.
As for woods that need no finish, in general the oily, dense woods are the ones that don't need further protection. Lignum vitae is probably the best wood so far as not needing a finish. Members of the rosewood family are also in the group. There isn't much local to me (middle of the U.S.), but some of the Australian woods may not need finish.
There are also makers who finish with cyanoacrylate glues.

If you go with oil, I'd stick with a curing oil (linseed, tung not mineral or many vegetable oils). And I'd apply a coat of oil once a year for a few years.

ron

[Sebastiaan56]

There are also makers who finish with cyanoacrylate glues

Or epoxy, both my boys have made knife handles and sealed them with epoxy. Needs a good sand but then it can be polished to a glass like finish. I use the thin stuff by West Systems. It does depend a lot on the timber you use. Mulga needs a lot less care than Cypress Pine for example.

[Manuka Jock]

It'll be an outdoors knife. So it'll deffinitly have to be as water-proof as I can get it. Blood and fishgut-proof would be nice too, but I think water proof is the main concern. I don't want the wood to swell once it's on the handle.

Or epoxy, both my boys have made knife handles and sealed them with epoxy. Needs a good sand but then it can be polished to a glass like finish. I use the thin stuff by West Systems. It does depend a lot on the timber you use. Mulga needs a lot less care than Cypress Pine for example.

Just what ya need on a blade eh . A handle so smooth that it has no grip , and when ya hands are slimy with blood and guts , ya end up like the baby that played with the cut throat razor


Glass finish is not the one for a hunting knife Sebastian

[Hop Thief]

China: What does wood that has a patina on it look like? Darker I assume. Darker is a good thing in my book. Metal patinas look good and are also useful for rust prevention so the wood patina effect interests me !

BobL: How long is long concerning the drying of raw linseed oil? I can be fairly patient and if it means I don't have to carry extra products (for future applications) then I'm willing to wait for it to dry naturally. I read somewhere it can take weeks to dry naturally, is that the case?

Rifleman1776 & son of bluegrass: How does one stabilise wood? Does it require special equipment or can I do it myself?

son of bluegras: I'll have to do some research on local timbers ! Also I'll deffinitly take your advice on yearly coats, which rules out the use of wax. I assume the wax would prevent future coasts of oil.

Sebastiaan: I'm pleased to hear you're teaching your sons the importance of knives. Too many people are scared of knives these days, a knife is not a murderous object, it's a vital tool for life.

Thankyou for all the replies by the way, they're very educational !

[Andy Mac]

Good robust discussion! My take on it is how the handle parts (scales) are attached to the tang. If they are relying on rivets or bolts etc, any finish is not going to affect the bond, so oil etc is ok. If you are glueing the scales on, like epoxy, any oil finish will affect the bond on the timber, in addition to the nature of the timber. In that case epoxy finish would suit.
I'm looking forward to photos of the finished item!

Cheers

[Rifleman1776]

son of bluegrass, actually making the stabilizing solution requires the use of solvents. Keep stabilized wood items away from solvents or you will have a mess.

Hop thief, I'm sure you can do it yourself. But, it does require some special equipment. Basically, you need a vacuum pump and a sealed chamber. My chamber is an old paint pot, about a 4 gallon size. My forumla is simple, plexiglas scrap dissolved in Acetone or MEC. The solution is somewhat expensive as my Acetone costs $15.00 a gallon and I need about two in the pot at all times. I am fortunate, very fortunate, to have a source of free plexiglass. There are many forumlas and some commercial products available for stabilizing.
There is a forum for stabilizers and caster on the pen turning forum International Association of Penturners a/ka/ IAP.
Stabilizing wood can turn scrap and/or otherwise undesirable wood into something useful and, often, beautiful.

[Manuka Jock]

Soaking the dry wood in hot linseed oil stabilises it .
The oil drives out and replaces the air and moisture , thus it is stabilised

It can even be done with wet green wood , by putting the wood in cold oil and bringing it up to boiling and then letting it cool.

[Rifleman1776]

Soaking the dry wood in hot linseed oil stabilises it .
The oil drives out and replaces the air and moisture , thus it is stabilised

It can even be done with wet green wood , by putting the wood in cold oil and bringing it up to boiling and then letting it cool.

Manuka Jock, I won't debate definitions, some may agree with what you say.
The common definition of stabilizing, as I know it, is to soak, pressure or vacuum inpregnate with something that dries hard. It is often done on old or rotting wood to make workable, as in stabilized.

[Manuka Jock]

Manuka Jock, I won't debate definitions, some may agree with what you say.
The common definition of stabilizing, as I know it, is to soak, pressure or vacuum inpregnate with something that dries hard. It is often done on old or rotting wood to make workable, as in stabilized.

Yes , I know that , I do that quite often with over spalted wood before I turn , it using a dilute polyurethane mix. .
That is also what happens with Raw linseed oil . The slight difference being that it does not dry overnight.

Wood stabilization is not something that has been invented since the coming of the modern chemical age Rifleman , it is as old as time .

[son_of_bluegras]

I have to disagree that linseed oil will stabilize wood. I've done some testing and it just doesn't penetrate very far on its own. Under pressure (and maybe through heat) you can get deeper penetration, but it doesn't cure deeper than about 1/8 inch (a bit over 3 mm). The surface will cure and prevent oxygen from getting any deeper than that. That is plenty to protect the wood from water and the like (including blood and guts). I know this from cutting open test pieces.

As for the time it takes raw linseed oil to cure, that depends on temperature and humidity. Lower temps and higher humidity will slow down the curing of the oil You can speed the process by heating the oil before hand (from what I've read and seen, heat to around 175 F (80 C) for 1/2 hour) can speed the curing process. I've personally seen (smelt actually) raw, unheated oil take something over 4 weeks to cure. I say smelt because the oil will no longer feel oily but will not have completely cured if it still smells of oil. If you continue to apply coats while it still smells you can wind up with a gooey mess that needs to be removed and you start over.

If you thin the oil with turpentine or mineral spirits then the solvent will allow the penetration of oil though the wax to some extent. So wax doesn't necessarily preclude further oiling.

As for stabilizing wood, it can take special equipment but may not. There are commercially available wood stabilizing compounds that merely need soaking the wood in the solution. In hardware stores over here there are "wood hardeners" that do just that. They don't penetrate as far as can be got with vacuum pumps.
There is something referred to as PEG that is a compound used for stabilizing wood. I don't know how well it works. Or really anything else about it, just something I've read.
I haven't got a lot of experience with stabilized wood. I've used super glue to stabilize some small spots when turning and played with one scrap of professionally stabilized wood.


ron

[Manuka Jock]

I have to disagree that linseed oil will stabilize wood. I've done some testing and it just doesn't penetrate very far on its own. Under pressure (and maybe through heat) you can get deeper penetration, but it doesn't cure deeper than about 1/8 inch (a bit over 3 mm). The surface will cure and prevent oxygen from getting any deeper than that. That is plenty to protect the wood from water and the like (including blood and guts). I know this from cutting open test pieces.

As for the time it takes raw linseed oil to cure, that depends on temperature and humidity. Lower temps and higher humidity will slow down the curing of the oil You can speed the process by heating the oil before hand (from what I've read and seen, heat to around 175 F (80 C) for 1/2 hour) can speed the curing process. I've personally seen (smelt actually) raw, unheated oil take something over 4 weeks to cure. I say smelt because the oil will no longer feel oily but will not have completely cured if it still smells of oil. If you continue to apply coats while it still smells you can wind up with a gooey mess that needs to be removed and you start over.
ron

Ron, in reading through the thread from the start , you will see that I talking only about wood soaked in hot raw linseed oil . Not cold , not so called 'boiled' , not brushed , rubbed or wiped on .

Wood soaked in very hot raw linseed oil only.

cheers , Jock

[son_of_bluegras]

Ron, if you read through the thread from the start , you will see that I talking only about wood soaked in hot raw linseed oil . Not cold , not so called 'boiled' , not brushed , rubbed or wiped on .

Wood soaked in very hot raw linseed oil only.

Yes, I caught that.
My questions to you are have you ever cut open one of the pieces you soaked in hot oil? Do you know how much penetration you get? Is it fully cured to that depth?
I have cut open piece soaked in oil (though not hot oil). In my experience, the oil, even if it penetrates further, does not cure deeper than about 1/8 inch (about 3mm).
If you have cut open piece that you've soaked in hot oil, please let me know what your results are. I'm always looking for more information.

ron

[Manuka Jock]

Ron ,
Hoppy is talking about knife handle scales , I'm talking about food bowls .
How thick do you think those pieces of wood are ?
We ain't preparing bridge beams

Jock

[conwood]

Hello everyone,
While we are on the subject, how do you affix the tangs to the timber. Where do you get rivets from for those of you using rivets.
cheers
conwood