Finishing a Knife Handle

[HowSwedeItIs]

Afternoon guys,

I recently picked up a hunting knife with an unfinished birch handle. I thought if it saw use at all this fall the blood might smell it up a bit and wanted to avoid this- would a salad bowl finish (Clapham's, beeswax and mineral oil) seal it up alright? I've rubbed it in and left it to dry for about 4 days now and it doesn't seem to have dried at all. Should I try and wipe it off?

[flyguyd]

Should always wipe off the excess after a few hours .

[HowSwedeItIs]

Thank you I will do that, will the one coat be okay? How often should I reapply it?

[Red Bullets]

I would think a wax would be better than an oil for sealing the wood. If you can find it, try indian sand wax. Rubbing in one time would be good enough. I've rubbed in one application on a hardwood floor and its good for a few years. Even with heavy traffic. Really brings the luster in the wood out too.

[calgarychef]

It's too late for this but you'd be amazed how crazy glue works for that sort of thing.

[HowSwedeItIs]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

I would think a wax would be better than an oil for sealing the wood. If you can find it, try indian sand wax. Rubbing in one time would be good enough. I've rubbed in one application on a hardwood floor and its good for a few years. Even with heavy traffic. Really brings the luster in the wood out too.

Hmm, never heard of the sand wax but I'll have to keep that in mind, thought I would get the best of both worlds in an oil/wax mixture but it probably would have been better to do them separately, thank you

Originally Posted by calgarychef

It's too late for this but you'd be amazed how crazy glue works for that sort of thing.

Haha oh boy I don't trust myself with that stuff

[ghostguy6]

You could try wiping the the current finish off with some paper towel and then applying a coat of boiled linseed oil. Wipe the excess oil off after about 30 min and then let the knife sit until the handle feels dry. You can repeat a few times if you want a more glossy finish.

[creeky]

Originally Posted by ghostguy6

You could try wiping the the current finish off with some paper towel and then applying a coat of boiled linseed oil. Wipe the excess oil off after about 30 min and then let the knife sit until the handle feels dry. You can repeat a few times if you want a more glossy finish.

this^


religiously apply linseed oil on my hard use hickory horse shoeing handles prior to every season.

[bushpilot]

An old timer once told me for his homemade knife handles to use boiled linseed oil. Apply once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, once a month for a year and once a year for life.

[HowSwedeItIs]

Wow wish I would have done a little more research before I tried the beeswax and mineral oil, thanks for the info everybody