# Handle Finish



## Dave Martell

I typed out a pretty lengthy email to a customer earlier today and then started thinking about how this might make for a nice discussion for this sub-forum. I copied the email I sent him and made a few tweaks to it to make it a bit more general in nature...



Handle finishing is something that I never would have thought I'd get into, and certainly not to the degree that I have. When I first started doing rehandles I didn't know (or care) what woods were what, what properties woods had, or how to finish them. I used to do what a lot of knife makers do...."buff is enough". Next!  

That approach is fine for safe queens, knives that won't ever cut anything. But that's not to be expected from a kitchen knife owner, they use their knives - all their knives, almost without exception. 

The problem for our little sub-world of knife making is that we make knives that will get used hard, washed with dish detergent, get all sorts of crap on them, and maybe even get scrubbied! :shocked3: Basically they get used and abused just from simple normal use.



Early on I came across some wood that challenged the "buff is enough" concept to where I couldn't even get them looking nice enough to impress for the initial customer contact let alone long term use so I started looking for ways to make my handles prettier. This is what stared the ball rolling into what has become an obsession with me. :scared4:


I've bought likely 90% of everything available on the commercial market that is sold as a finishing oil. I'd bet that I've spent somewhere between $700-$1,000 on different oils and related paraphernalia. I've mixed my own combos from these oils and I've been testing and keeping records since at least 2010 but not until just recently do I feel that I've made any significant progress in achieving my goals of making a more attractive handle that is also wear resistant.


There are several discoveries that have come my way. I've discovered that every wood needs something different, there is no single answer to what to use for everything. In knife making we use hardwoods, soft woods, stabilized woods, oily tropical woods, oily desert woods and these all need something different. 


I often get asked about what I do to my handles but I won't answer this question because I'm still learning.
In the past had I said that I do this or that I'd have been giving bad advice for what I know today to be wrong. If I can ever get to where I feel more confident I'll make a post or write a blog or something with specifics to help others out but that's not going to be today.

I will, _however_, share some of the things that I've learned that I feel are things that are safe to pass on at this point in time....





*Off The Shelf Oils*

Most all of the finishing oils on the market are blends that are based off of either boiled linseed oil (BLO)_(which isn't really boiled at all)_ or some type of tung oil variant but rarely pure tung oil (PTO). Some have varnishes or urethanes in them and most contain heavy metal dryers.

Ex. - Teak oil, Teak Oil Finish, Danish Oil, Tru-Oil, Tung Oil Finish, Tung Oil, Circa 1830/1850, Antique Oil, Waterlox, Tried & True, Finishing Oil, etc

These off the shelf blends work OK for most applications but fail for some. I could write novels on the combos I've tried and the results I've achieved but the take away is that they don't always work, or better put, they don't always match up to the wood being worked on. 

Most failures come from the fact that they don't adhere well enough, aren't water resistant, or cloud the grain/obscure the beauty. 






*Mix Your Own*

I now prefer to mix my own blend. This allows me to tailor the blend to suit the needs of the particular wood being worked on. Maybe I want to have a high level of shine, maybe I want a satin sheen, or somewhere in between? One day it's a hard stabilized wood like maple that I'm working on and the next day it's oily African Blackwood, there's many variables to consider. I like to be able to make the necessary changes on the fly vs having to follow what a can has in it and hope for the best.






*What to Use on What*

There are two (basic) distinct categories that I break wood into when deciding on the blend that I'll be using. 


1. Non-Oily Woods = Oil/Varnish Blend

2. Oily Woods = Wiping Varnish Blend



Oil/Varnish Blend = BLO or PTO / Thinner / Varnish 

_*Note - if you're going to use tung oil be sure to buy "PTO" - the more expensive "Pure" or "Raw"version. 

**Note - PTO has no dryers and takes much longer than BLO to fully cure. PTO is superior to BLO in the results it provides but you need great patience to use this stuff. Be sure to keep this in mind when adding coats and before use._


Wiping Varnish Blend = Thinner / Varnish

_*Note - I've never tried this but many people use shellac on oily woods. Shellac drives me insane but has great waterproofing qualities and because of that it's still something I'll be working with in future testing. _



Adjusting the blend

To achieve more shine - add more oil. 

To get more water resistance - add more varnish. 

To make the mix flow/spread easier/better _(or even soak in better)_ - use more thinner. 




Then there's....

Poly = Don't bother unless you want plasti-dipped handles. This stuff can substitute as varnish but will be more plasticky than spar even. I believe this is, along with BLO, the main ingredients in Tru-Oil

Lacquer = Cheap looking, like you spray painted the handle







*How Many Coats?*

Use many very thin coats vs a few thick coats! 

I've found that 5-6 really thin coats to be the magic point where I start to like what I see and can expect it to not wash off too easily. More is better though you can expect to at some point cross over into a bit too much with some woods. I define "a bit too much" as to where the handle looks and feels gaudy. There is sometimes a fine line between a nice build up that's glossy and the "old ship's deck" look, know what I mean? :lol2:




So, have I just given you the answer to how to finish your handles? Well sort of. If you were paying attention you should have realized that I've labeled the basics but that you're going to have to play around and figure out what works best with different woods. There is no one simple answer here, not if you want really nice results anyway. I do hope that what I have given you here helps some.

I'd love to have some further discussion on the subject as I don't mean for my post to be the end all on the subject. I'd like to hear what others are doing and have learned, maybe I can learn a new trick or two. 

Dave


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## Dave Martell

One thing I forgot to mention is that wa handles (octagonal types) are far easier to get a nice looking finish on then westerns are. I feel it's the flat surfaces vs the curves that make the difference. Wear resistance is still the same obviously, I'm just talking about looks here.


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## milkbaby

Great post and thanks for sharing, Dave! :doublethumbsup:

But... but... no wax? Or that's a separate post? 

Also, what do you end up recommending to customers for taking care of and refreshing their handles? Do you suggest different care regimes for different woods? What about wood and horn combos?


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## Dave Martell

milkbaby said:


> But... but... no wax? Or that's a separate post?



Wax, yeah, that sure could be another whole discussion, but what the hell, let's talk about it. 

I do add wax to the handle after I finish with the finish. 

For years my go to was the kitchen staple boardwax, and that works great in some respects. It's a great thing to add to unfinished woods, like say ironwood. And this is handy for a customer to re-apply as they see the need.

Over time I've tried, just like the finishes, just about everything I found and also just like the finishes I learned a few things. 

Bees wax = soft and doesn't stand up to dish detergent well at all

Carnauba wax = pretty tough, lasts at least a few washes in dish detergent

Car wax = there's many different types here, it's hard to generalize. I can say that most contain some sort of cleaner that will dull a finish to a soft matte sheen. This can be either a good or bad thing, depends what look you're going for. I've tried some outrageously expensive super car waxes and the results on wood handles are the same as the cheap stuff from WalleyWorld.

Most car waxes offer an increased wear resistance over plain carnauba waxes. 


Why I wax handles _(now)_ isn't really for protection, it's for smoothing out the finish. I find that a good hard pressure hand rub can make for a nice smooth finish. Some waxes have the ability to rub the finish surface a bit, sort of like taking swirl marks out of clear coat on a car type of thing. *This is a great trick for removing little micro-dust particles that may have got stuck in the finish while drying. :wink:

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I like the feel of a waxed handle better than without wax. But then again some oils (like pure teak) can leave a handle feeling silkier than even wax can. 







milkbaby said:


> Also, what do you end up recommending to customers for taking care of and refreshing their handles? Do you suggest different care regimes for different woods? What about wood and horn combos?



Tough question as this is something still in development for me. 

I send a note along with my knives with care instructions, one of the things being to use boardwax (beeswax/mineral oil) on the handles if they find the need to spruce things up. Yet, as noted above, this only yields very temporary results. I've been working on something better that I could recommend but this hasn't produced itself yet. I may end up just saying to buy brand X wax but I'd like to offer something more in the way of something permanent. When the time comes I'll post on what I go with but for now I don't have a good answer for you.

Wood and horn combos can be challenging with regards to finishes because a lot of these oils won't adhere to horn well at all. As you can imagine it's tough to get finish on only one part of the handle and not the rest. I've taken the approach of either wiping away excess (leaving the lightest of coats) when I'm concerned about the oil sticking well or I go for it and coat the horn just like the wood when I feel confident in it staying put. I'm pretty sure that I've had some peeling buffalo horn on some handles that I've sent out in the past because of what I didn't know at the time. If in doubt, it's best to strip the horn clean and leave it alone. Horn buffs up all on it's own anyway and it's pretty water resistant as well.


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## Nemo

Thanks Dave. As always you are a font of great information.

Do you think that ho wood needs to be coated?


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## Dave Martell

Nemo said:


> Thanks Dave. As always you are a font of great information.
> 
> Do you think that ho wood needs to be coated?




I think ho wood is supposed to remain un-coated for the purpose of "grip when wet".


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## Nemo

Thanks. I'd heard that too and it certainly been my practice.


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## zetieum

Very interesting thread. Thanks for sharing.


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## aboynamedsuita

This gives me appreciation to how ignorant I have been with respect to the thought/effort goes into the process, thanks for posting gentlemen.


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## RDalman

Great post Dave &#128077; For me it's important as well, and it's a constant evolving process. So many things play together, it's difficult to make recommendations without getting lengthy and very specific. Just how things are applied for example. Sometimes the product used is less important than the experience of the one making the finish. And your handles always look great.

For myself I like to use birch and reindeer antler. For sealing these and getting a grippy stable surface without getting into "lacquer like" surface I like to use tru-oil. This is even though tru-oil is known to do high-gloss best, and sure I do that sometimes too. I would do similar on a ho-wood handle. Here's a grippy satin one I'm happy with.

Finish https://imgur.com/gallery/9nEoZ


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## Castalia

Thanks for sharing Dave! I have tried a variety of products as well and have never really found a favorite combo for stabilized woods.


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## Matus

Great post Dave, thanks. May I ask what sort so varnish do you use?


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## Dave Martell

RDalman said:


> Great post Dave &#128077; For me it's important as well, and it's a constant evolving process. So many things play together, it's difficult to make recommendations without getting lengthy and very specific. Just how things are applied for example. Sometimes the product used is less important than the experience of the one making the finish. And your handles always look great.
> 
> For myself I like to use birch and reindeer antler. For sealing these and getting a grippy stable surface without getting into "lacquer like" surface I like to use tru-oil. This is even though tru-oil is known to do high-gloss best, and sure I do that sometimes too. I would do similar on a ho-wood handle. Here's a grippy satin one I'm happy with.
> 
> Finish https://imgur.com/gallery/9nEoZ





Great point Robin. I didn't even touch on that at all yet it's without question a key factor in getting the results you want. There's so much to this subject, it's crazy.


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## Dave Martell

Matus said:


> Great post Dave, thanks. May I ask what sort so varnish do you use?




My (current) favorite is Epifanes


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## Matus

Dave Martell said:


> My (current) favorite is Epifanes



Thanks


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## andrew44

great informative Thread. 
I also have a list (much shorter than yours) of various wood treatments. 

Today I'm going to try Shellac for the 1st time 
applying on Ebony / Grenadilla African blackwood 

my new recent tip > Qtips do a fine job on the minute detail touchups


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## scott.livesey

a quick list of finishes and reviews from our friends who make wood bowls and utensils http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com...-and-abrasives/penetrative/oil-finishes-pt-2/


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## woodworkcan

This is an important topic for those who make or refinish handles.
I made a maple handle for a friend's hunting knive. Finished with tung oil, 8+ thin coats and lastly buffed with wax. 
After a few months, he showed me the knife and on the areas where the handle rubbed into the leather sheath (scandinavian type), the finish was partly off...I think I was much more disappointed than the customer :-( I offered to refinish it for him and he declined, saying that it didnt both him very much.

I don't have "after" pics, but here is the finished knife.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsksPYEuW

Nowadays, I use mainly the countertop oil made by Livos. They recommend only 3 coats. For the first coat, I sometimes dilute it with turpentine so it goes deeper in the wood. Have any of you used it?
https://livos.com/en-ca/catalog?produitno=243


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## Dave Martell

The kitchen is no easy place for a handle. I prefer an in the wood look/feel but it just won't hold up to constant washing. It's a tough situation when you want a certain look/feel but you need hard wear/protection from your handle finish. I've come to realize that no matter what the finish used if you want it to stay in place you need many thin layers, more than you might want to apply.


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## woodworkcan

I had the dilemma that you are describing, Dave. I wanted the most natural-looking finish, especially for maple to keep the pale color (not too yellow), but still add durability. Its always a compromise I guess.

I have seen some apply CA glue on the surface as evenly as possible. And finish by sanding very fine and perhaps buffing. But nature, glue would be a very durable finish because it seeps into the pores and with CA you can make a glossy finish. Has anyone tried that? 
For the moment, I use the CA glue type to coat my jnats or to fill small holes in wood (e.g. burl).


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