What oil or oil-wax combination would you use to make a handle darker and richer, particularly a lighter to mid tone wood? Are there any that do not require days and weeks of curing and process?
Oiling handles
- Thread starter JPAU
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My ho wood handles get mineral oil and/or mineral oil-beeswax blend. Rub on, wipe off. Works well. Light sanding before hand helps as well. Some of my best feeling handles are some cheap Tojiros that I sanded up to 1000 grit (to remove the D on them) and then finished that way. Highly functional
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Oils will get you the deeper colors and waxes will help with shine and maybe offer a little bit of water resistance.
Most of the natural curing oils will require time such as tung, linseed, hemp, safflower, etc. To speed up the process, oftentimes the oil products may be treated. Temperature treating (eg boiled linseed oil or polymerized tung oil) can shorten the curing time, but I'd still recommend giving those at least a week. "Dry to the touch" and "fully cured" are two different things.
Chemicals driers that accelerate the curing such as heavy metal salts (eg japan drier) can also be used or added if you want faster.
You need to be careful also with the labeling when looking for products, as they can be very deceptive. A can of "tung oil finish" often contains no actual tung oil, and "boiled linseed oil" is often not actually boiled but instead treated with heavy metal driers. Also they can be mixed with a variety of solvents which you may want to consider if you will be using inside the house with family or young children. I recommend checking the SDS of any products to see if the ingredients are something you are comfortable with.
Also think about what type of final finish you want. The oils listed above will give sort of a flat finish, as they primarily just soak into the wood and cure. The benefit is that they don't really "build up" or end up with a plastic feeling finish.
If you want more shine, you can use a finish with some type of varnish in it. These are like resins that add some shine, but also add an additional layer on top of your finish. These include like urethanes and natural resins. Since they form a layer, they can build up and contribute to what people sometimes refer to as the plastic feeling. I personally am not a huge fan of the feel.
For my finishes, I prefer the least amount of potentially hazardous chemicals and most natural feel, with the tradeoff of just waiting a little longer for cure times. For maximum speed, you could look for the stuff that has more of the driers in it.
Most of the natural curing oils will require time such as tung, linseed, hemp, safflower, etc. To speed up the process, oftentimes the oil products may be treated. Temperature treating (eg boiled linseed oil or polymerized tung oil) can shorten the curing time, but I'd still recommend giving those at least a week. "Dry to the touch" and "fully cured" are two different things.
Chemicals driers that accelerate the curing such as heavy metal salts (eg japan drier) can also be used or added if you want faster.
You need to be careful also with the labeling when looking for products, as they can be very deceptive. A can of "tung oil finish" often contains no actual tung oil, and "boiled linseed oil" is often not actually boiled but instead treated with heavy metal driers. Also they can be mixed with a variety of solvents which you may want to consider if you will be using inside the house with family or young children. I recommend checking the SDS of any products to see if the ingredients are something you are comfortable with.
Also think about what type of final finish you want. The oils listed above will give sort of a flat finish, as they primarily just soak into the wood and cure. The benefit is that they don't really "build up" or end up with a plastic feeling finish.
If you want more shine, you can use a finish with some type of varnish in it. These are like resins that add some shine, but also add an additional layer on top of your finish. These include like urethanes and natural resins. Since they form a layer, they can build up and contribute to what people sometimes refer to as the plastic feeling. I personally am not a huge fan of the feel.
For my finishes, I prefer the least amount of potentially hazardous chemicals and most natural feel, with the tradeoff of just waiting a little longer for cure times. For maximum speed, you could look for the stuff that has more of the driers in it.
Pure tung oil is great.
I also like shellac.
They both work well with longterm maintenance with mineral oil and beeswax.
They are both generally food safe and can be reapplied later. I'm working on a shellac Chinese cleaver handle at the moment. I'll post some pics this afternoon.
I also like shellac.
They both work well with longterm maintenance with mineral oil and beeswax.
They are both generally food safe and can be reapplied later. I'm working on a shellac Chinese cleaver handle at the moment. I'll post some pics this afternoon.
This is brilliant, thank you
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there are tradeoffs to speed with oils. a single coating may be weak or leave trace amounts of undesirable chemicals.
I just went through this exercise, and I settled on buying a bottle of 100% tung oil and a bottle of orange oil (aka citrus solvent). I used a 50:50 mixture for the first coat, roughly a 75% tung : 25% orange for the next 4 coats.
You probably could get away with doing a coat of 50:50 every 12 hours and be okay with the results after 2-3 coats. Tung Oil adds a mellow yellow/tan color.
I just went through this exercise, and I settled on buying a bottle of 100% tung oil and a bottle of orange oil (aka citrus solvent). I used a 50:50 mixture for the first coat, roughly a 75% tung : 25% orange for the next 4 coats.
You probably could get away with doing a coat of 50:50 every 12 hours and be okay with the results after 2-3 coats. Tung Oil adds a mellow yellow/tan color.
The shellac I have is tinted amber. Here is the handle I am working on with some older tools and actually that work bench too that all got shellacked. The older tools show how it fades over time. All of that is either blonde maple or pine. The shellac is what adds the rich color and chatoyance. I did also scuff up the handle and torch it a little to make it darker and give it an antique, weathered look. You can use mineral oil with it just fine and you can reapply shellac years later without refinishing.
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
And a clarification between drying and curing:
An oil may feel dry to the touch in a day or two.
However, to cure, the oil needs to fully polymerize and harden afterward, which could take weeks or more depending on the type of oil and how much oil has been applied. Ideally during this time, you don't expose it to water to allow for best long term results. The nice thing about oils though is that if you need to touch up down the line, all you need to do is basically clean it a bit and then add more oil.
An oil may feel dry to the touch in a day or two.
However, to cure, the oil needs to fully polymerize and harden afterward, which could take weeks or more depending on the type of oil and how much oil has been applied. Ideally during this time, you don't expose it to water to allow for best long term results. The nice thing about oils though is that if you need to touch up down the line, all you need to do is basically clean it a bit and then add more oil.
Thank you everyone. I have found this very helpful! I might try a combination of tung oil and orange oil to bring out the best in some Thuya and Yew. Light coating of axe wax or bees wax at the end perhaps.
JustAnotherJoe
Hobbyist
I can vouch for RealMilkPaint's 50/50 tung and citrus solvent blend
Glued up.
